Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

The Lodger

Originally Aired: February 14, 1948
In Suspense #284, "The Lodger," Robert Montgomery stars in this chilling adaptation of Marie Belloc Lowndes's novel set in 1888 London during the reign of terror known as Jack the Ripper. Ellen and Robert Bunting, a struggling middle-aged couple living in the Whitechapel district, desperately need a lodger to make ends meet. As they discuss the latest gruesome murder by the killer the newspapers call "The Avenger," a mysterious stranger arrives at their door seeking rooms. The man who calls himself Mr. Sleuth seems peculiar from the start, with his nervous manner, his protective attitude toward his mysterious bag, and his insistence on absolute quiet and privacy for his scientific studies.
Ellen Bunting finds herself both relieved to have a paying tenant and increasingly unsettled by the strange lodger's behavior. Mr. Sleuth's cryptic references to precious and dangerous contents in his bag, his obsessive quoting of Scripture, and his arrival on the very night of another murder create an atmosphere of mounting dread. As the lodger settles into the rooms upstairs, Ellen must wonder whether she has found the answer to her financial prayers or invited something far more sinister into her home.

Donovan’s Brain

Originally Aired: February 7, 1948
Suspense #283, "Donovan's Brain," Dr. Patrick Corey becomes dangerously consumed by his obsessive experiments to keep brain tissue alive outside the body. Working tirelessly in his laboratory, Patrick has successfully sustained a monkey's brain in a jar using a sophisticated circulation system, demonstrating that it can still react and possibly think independently of its host body. His wife Janet and son David, a medical student, grow increasingly alarmed by his fanatical devotion to work that seems to violate the natural order. Dr. Schrott, a colleague, confronts Patrick about the moral implications of his research, arguing that he's attempting to discover things no man should know and profaning life itself by reducing it to mere chemistry.
As Patrick documents his experiments in his case book, beginning with that fateful December 5th entry, he establishes a chilling framework that suggests something terrible lies ahead. The episode opens with Patrick writing what he knows will be his final entry, asking neither forgiveness nor offering explanation beyond the case book itself, hinting that his breakthrough experiment will lead him down a dark and irreversible path that destroys his psychological fiber.

The Black Angel

Originally Aired: January 24, 1948
Suspense #281, "The Black Angel," presents a Hollywood murder mystery where a woman's life unravels after a disastrous evening. Eve finds herself caught in a web of circumstantial evidence when what begins as a canceled dinner party spirals into a nightmare. Her husband Frank rushes off to see Lorna Moore, a famous actress and former friend, leaving Eve humiliated and alone. When Eve impulsively drives to confront the situation, she stumbles upon a horrifying discovery - a silk-clad leg and a body, leading to her conviction for first-degree murder.
Now facing the consequences of someone else's crime, Eve must navigate her new reality while maintaining her innocence. With the help of Lieutenant Trout and others, she searches desperately for overlooked evidence that could exonerate her. The story weaves through Hollywood's glittering surface to expose the darker passions beneath, as Eve attempts to uncover the truth about what really happened that fateful night. The question remains whether she can find the real killer before it's too late, or if she'll remain trapped by the circumstantial evidence that convicted her.

Love’s Lovely Counterfeit

Originally Aired: January 17, 1948
Suspense #280, "Love's Lovely Counterfeit," presents James Cagney as Ben Grace, a tough driver working for Sal Caspar, the crime boss who runs Lake City through bookies, gambling, and sheer intimidation. When a reform candidate named Jansen and his campaign manager, the intriguing June Lyons, threaten Sal's political machine, Ben finds himself caught between loyalty to his dangerous boss and a risky attraction to the woman on the other side. After Sal forces Ben into a violent collection job involving bank robbers hiding in Sal's hotel, Ben makes a dangerous decision to contact June with information that could change the election.
As Ben arranges a secret meeting with June, he knows he's playing with fire. Working for Sal while dealing with the opposition isn't just risky, it's potentially deadly, especially in a town where Sal owns half the police force and isn't afraid to use violence to maintain control. With Sal's temper growing shorter and his grip on the city tightening, Ben must navigate treacherous waters where one wrong move could mean the difference between freedom and a shallow grave.

Having Contest to Name New Grocery Store

Originally Aired: August 13, 1935
In Lum & Abner #172, "Having Contest to Name New Grocery Store," Lum and Abner eagerly await the completion of their latest business venture: a grocery store on wheels. With local blacksmith Caleb Weehunt hard at work building a store body onto Abner's old car chassis, the partners have launched a contest over the party line for folks to suggest a name for their mobile enterprise. The announcement has generated considerable excitement around Pine Ridge, with neighbors like Sister Simpson submitting entries such as "Pine Ridge Runabout" and Dick Huddleston suggesting "The Servidor."
At Dick Huddleston's store, the partners discuss their innovative concept with enthusiasm, explaining how their rolling grocery will bring merchandise directly to customers' front doors across Pine Ridge and neighboring towns. While Dick worries about the competition, Lum and Abner assure him they'll avoid his regular customers. The partners debate potential names, with Lum's suggestion of "Lum's Limousine" already rejected by Abner, who insists on something more fitting for their unique enterprise. As they study Lum's drawings and discuss the store's design, their excitement builds about this new venture that promises to revolutionize shopping in their community.

The Kandy Tooth

Originally Aired: January 10, 1948
Suspense #279, "The Kandy Tooth," brings back Sam Spade in a new adventure that rivals the infamous Maltese Falcon case. Private detective Sam Spade finds himself entangled in an international mystery when the notorious fat man, Caspar Gutman, reappears with another elaborate scheme. This time, Gutman seeks a priceless Buddhist relic—a tooth of Buddha—which he believes is hidden in the bridgework of a man named Herman Julius. Spade is hired to track down Julius, but the case quickly grows complicated when a woman named Miss Laverne arrives searching for her troubled brother Larry, whose strange behavior seems connected to the mysterious tooth. As Spade investigates, he encounters Joel, young Marvin, and a web of deceit involving sacred relics, Portuguese viceroys, and desperate treasure hunters.
The investigation leads Spade through San Francisco's foggy streets as he uncovers a conspiracy involving switched identities, hidden fortunes, and fanatics willing to kill for possession of the legendary candy tooth. With bodies piling up and Gutman's charming yet sinister presence looming over everything, Spade must navigate between truth and deception to solve the case before more blood is shed.

The Black Curtain

Originally Aired: January 3, 1948
Suspense #278, "The Black Curtain," begins with a terrifying mystery. Frank Townsend regains consciousness on an icy street after being knocked down, only to discover that the year is December 1944—three years later than the July 1941 day he last remembers. A black curtain of amnesia has erased three entire years of his life, and the evidence suggests he's been living as someone else entirely. A cigar case and hat in his possession bear the initials D.N., not his own. As the dazed Townsend tries to piece together what happened, a menacing stranger with gray eyes spots him, calls him by a different name—Thompson—and chases him with a gun.
Frank flees in terror and eventually makes his way to the office building where he and his partner Johnny once ran their advertising business, desperate for answers from the one person he trusts. But the building is now heavily guarded by security police requiring passes, and Frank quickly realizes that everything about the world—and his place in it—has changed during those missing three years. Who has he been, what has he done, and why does someone want him dead?

Too Little to Live On

Originally Aired: December 26, 1947
Suspense #277, "Too Little to Live On," presents Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard in a dramatic departure from their usual comedy roles. Dave, a struggling dentist, and his wife Myra live in grinding poverty while caring for Dave's elderly, wheelchair-bound Uncle Ed. The couple endures constant humiliation and abuse from the cantankerous old man and his vicious dog Willie, clinging to the hope of inheriting Uncle Ed's $30,000 estate. Their precarious situation grows more desperate when Uncle Ed summons his lawyer, hinting at changes to his will and taunting them about leaving his fortune to an orphanage instead. As tensions escalate in their claustrophobic household, small incidents pile up into unbearable pressure.
The morning everything comes to a head begins ordinarily enough, but each petty cruelty and humiliation pushes Dave and Myra closer to the edge. When Uncle Ed berates Myra for accidentally breaking his glasses and threatens to withhold their inheritance over Dave's attempts to defend her, the couple faces a terrible choice. Their years of patient suffering may be for nothing, and desperate circumstances drive them toward contemplating the unthinkable—a solution that would end their torment permanently.

The Man Who Couldn’t Lose

Originally Aired: December 12, 1947
Suspense #275, "The Man Who Couldn't Lose," presents Leonard Snell, a down-on-his-luck insurance salesman and compulsive gambler whose wife Celia constantly berates him for his failures and broken promises. Leonard's fortune suddenly changes when he discovers he's won $40,000 in the Irish Sweepstakes, an incredible stroke of luck that seems to answer all his problems. However, there's a complication: desperate for gambling money, Leonard had previously borrowed $1,800 from his wife's safe deposit box without her knowledge, and he needs to return it before she discovers the theft. As Leonard rushes around the city trying to settle his affairs and claim his winnings, his extraordinary day of luck takes increasingly dark and twisted turns.
What begins as a miraculous reversal of fortune spirals into a nightmare of coincidences, accidents, and desperate decisions. Leonard finds himself caught up in a mail truck robbery, a suspicious death, and a web of circumstances that seem almost impossibly interconnected. As bodies pile up and the police close in, Leonard clings to his belief that his luck will hold, that a man who can't lose will somehow escape the consequences of his actions. But in this tale of fate and fortune, the question becomes whether Leonard's incredible luck is a blessing or a curse leading him inexorably toward justice.

The Clock and the Rope

Originally Aired: December 5, 1947
Suspense #274, "The Clock and the Rope," young Henry Guildford finds himself trapped in a nightmare he never saw coming. Working nights at a gas station, the shy Hank finally works up the courage to ask out an attractive customer who's been dropping hints for weeks. They arrange to meet at the Owl Inn after midnight, but when Hank arrives early, he stumbles upon the girl arguing with a man named Joe in the grove outside. The confrontation turns violent when Joe pulls a blackjack, and in the struggle, Hank strikes him down. The girl insists Hank leave while she takes care of things, but within hours, the police arrive at Hank's door with terrible news: Joe is dead, and they're charging Hank with murder.
Now Hank faces the nightmare of an innocent man condemned. The police don't believe his story about self-defense or the mysterious girl who seems to have vanished without a trace. They claim Joe's pockets were turned inside out, suggesting robbery. With a court-appointed lawyer who seems to be merely stalling for time and a case built entirely on circumstantial evidence, Hank's situation grows increasingly desperate as he faces the ultimate penalty: the hangman's rope.