Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

Murder Through the Looking Glass

Originally Aired: March 17, 1949
Suspense #332, "Murder Through the Looking Glass," stars Gregory Peck as Jeffrey Bruno, a Greenwich Village mystery writer who awakens on a train to Philadelphia with no memory of how he got there. When Jeffrey checks his wallet, he's shocked to discover identification and personal effects belonging to someone named John Blake, an insurance agent he's never heard of. His confusion turns to terror when he spots a newspaper headline screaming "Killer Blake Escape!" alongside a photograph that appears to be his own face. Jeffrey has no recollection of the past three days or why he was traveling under another man's identity.
Racing back to New York, Jeffrey learns from his neighbor Rosalie that these unexplained disappearances have happened before—days when he vanishes completely and awakens with no memory of where he's been or what he's done. Now, with police hunting for a murderer who looks exactly like him and carries his face, Jeffrey must uncover the truth about John Blake and discover whether he's being framed for murder or if something far more sinister is happening during his mysterious blackouts.

Three O’Clock

Originally Aired: March 10, 1949
Suspense #331, "Three O'Clock," stars Van Heflin as Paul, a watch repairman consumed by jealousy who plants a bomb in his own basement, set to explode at three o'clock when his wife Francie returns from shopping. After wiring an alarm clock to a box of explosives, Paul heads back to his shop to establish an alibi. But before he can leave, two burglars break into the supposedly empty house. Duke and his partner discover Paul in the cellar and, despite his desperate attempts to warn them, tie him up and gag him before fleeing with their loot. Now Paul finds himself bound to a pipe in his own basement, helpless and alone, watching the clock tick toward three o'clock.
With over an hour until detonation, Paul frantically tries to free himself while wrestling with conflicting emotions about his wife. As the minutes slip away, he vacillates between justifying his murderous plot and desperately hoping Francie will return home early to save him. The irony of a watchmaker being at the mercy of time itself creates unbearable tension as Paul realizes the only people who knew his location have abandoned him to face the consequences of his own deadly scheme.

The Lovebirds

Originally Aired: March 3, 1949
Suspense #330, "The Lovebirds," Martha has reached her breaking point after seven long years of marriage to her ailing husband Sam. While everyone in their small town admires them as the perfect couple, calling them "the Lovebirds," Martha harbors a dark secret: she has been waiting for Sam to die so she can inherit his money and escape to the exotic destinations she secretly dreams about. When guests discover her hidden collection of travel folders during their anniversary party, and the doctor declares that travel is "out of the question" for Sam's fragile health, Martha realizes she can no longer endure her role as the devoted caretaker.
That night, when Sam asks for help reading the directions on his new sleeping pills because he cannot find his glasses, Martha sees her opportunity. She deliberately gives him false information about the dosage, telling him to take six pills instead of two. As the clock strikes through the early morning hours, Martha waits downstairs before finally going to Sam's bedroom to check if her plan has succeeded.

Where There’s a Will

Originally Aired: February 24, 1949
Suspense #329, "Where There's a Will," Charles Ridgway finds himself in desperate financial straits, owing gambler Mr. Jepson ten thousand pounds with only four weeks to pay. His salvation appears to lie in his elderly Aunt Mary's newly revised will, which names him heir to her forty thousand pound fortune instead of his cousin Miriam. When Dr. Minnell warns that Aunt Mary's weak heart could fail from any sudden shock or fright, Charles conceives what he calls a "whimsical practical joke." He installs a radio in his aunt's home, insisting it will keep her mind distracted as the doctor ordered, then secretly rigs a microphone and wire from his old amateur radio equipment.
One evening, while Aunt Mary sits alone listening to a Beethoven program, Charles speaks through the hidden microphone, impersonating her dead husband Patrick and claiming he's coming for her from beyond the grave. As Charles watches his plan unfold from the shadows, the line between practical joke and cold-blooded murder becomes dangerously blurred, with his mounting debts driving him toward an increasingly sinister solution to his financial troubles.

Catch Me If You Can

Originally Aired: February 17, 1949
Suspense #328, "Catch Me If You Can," features Jane Wyman as Margot Weatherby, a woman who has just murdered her wealthy husband Phil at an isolated Colorado mountain inn. After suffocating him with a pillow, Margot faces an immediate crisis: Phil had warned her that he called his old friend, a detective named Rocky Rhodes, and hidden pills as evidence of her earlier poisoning attempt. Now she must find that evidence before the detective arrives. Her desperate search is interrupted when three unexpected strangers appear at the supposedly closed inn during a rainstorm: Mike Sheldon, a newspaperman from Chicago; Charlie Miller, a man with a telephone reservation; and Susan Quinn, a woman Miller met on the bus.
Margot realizes that one of these three guests must be Rocky Rhodes, the detective her husband summoned. As she tries to maintain the appearance of a devoted wife tending to her sick husband, she must also determine which stranger poses the real threat and find the incriminating pills before her crime is exposed. With Phil's body upstairs and multiple suspects watching her every move, Margot's carefully planned murder begins to unravel.

De Mortuis

Originally Aired: February 10, 1949
Suspense #327, "De Mortuis," Dr. Raggen finds himself in a compromising position when two neighbors, Greg and George, arrive at his home unexpectedly. They discover him in the cellar, having just finished filling in a section of the floor with fresh concrete. When Dr. Raggen claims his wife Irene has gone to visit friends, the neighbors grow suspicious, especially since they've been seeing Irene around the village with Harry Manning, a traveling salesman staying at the local inn. The situation escalates as the men debate details about the depth of the clay beneath the house and inconsistencies in Dr. Raggen's story about where Irene has gone.
Greg and George, believing the doctor has murdered his unfaithful wife and buried her beneath the concrete, offer to help cover up the crime. They sympathize with Dr. Raggen, knowing Irene's reputation in the village and feeling somewhat responsible for not warning him before his marriage. Just as they're devising an alibi involving Irene running off with the traveling salesman, an unexpected voice calls out from upstairs, threatening to unravel everything.

Backseat Driver

Originally Aired: February 3, 1949
Suspense #326, "Backseat Driver," stars Fibber McGee and Molly in a harrowing tale of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary danger. Joe and Ellie are driving home to the San Fernando Valley after seeing a movie in Beverly Hills, listening to radio news about Lewis Matrick, a vicious mass murderer who escaped police in downtown Los Angeles earlier that day. The couple discusses the killer's description and crimes, with Ellie worrying about their children at home while Joe reassures her that such terrible things happen to other people, not to them. As they travel through the dark, quiet Cold Water Canyon, their comfortable evening takes a terrifying turn when a man with a gun suddenly appears in their backseat, pressing the weapon against Ellie's neck and ordering Joe to drive.
When headlights from a passing car illuminate their unwanted passenger, Joe catches a glimpse in the rearview mirror: light brown hair, pale eyes, and a slanted nose. The violent criminal they'd just been discussing on the radio is now holding them hostage, and Joe must navigate this deadly situation while keeping his terrified wife alive.

The Thing in the Window

Originally Aired: January 27, 1949
Suspense #325, "The Thing in the Window," Martin Ames, an actor with too much time on his hands, becomes obsessed with what he believes is a corpse sitting motionless in a window across the street from his apartment. For days, he watches the gray-suited figure slumped in a high-backed chair behind blue draperies on the tenth floor. When his housekeeper Mary can't make out what he sees, Ames takes matters into his own hands, approaching the building superintendent Mr. Anson with his grim discovery. The window belongs to apartment 9B, home to the Landis sisters, two prim former schoolteachers who live alone.
Despite Anson's reluctance and assurances that the elderly spinsters couldn't possibly be harboring a dead body, Ames persists and eventually involves the police. The refined Miss Landis sisters react with shock and indignation when officers arrive at their door with a search warrant, insisting they live completely alone. As the confrontation escalates and the door is about to be breached, the question remains: what exactly has Martin Ames been watching in that window, and what will the police find inside the Landis apartment?

If the Dead Could Talk

Originally Aired: January 20, 1949
Suspense #324, "If the Dead Could Talk," stars Dana Andrews as Joe, a trapeze artist caught in a tortured love triangle. Joe is hopelessly in love with Fran, his partner in a three-person circus act, but she chooses to marry Tommy, Joe's best friend and roommate. Unable to accept losing Fran to his closest companion, Joe spirals into drinking and sleepless nights, haunted by visions of the couple together. His anguish builds until one desperate night when he purchases a gun from an all-night pawn shop, determined to eliminate his rival.
Joe returns to the hotel where the circus troupe is staying and climbs the fire escape to the room he shares with Tommy, smashing through the locked window with bloody determination. Gun in hand, he waits in the darkness for Tommy to return, ready to commit murder. But when the door finally opens and Tommy appears framed in the hallway light, Joe must confront the terrible choice before him. The episode explores whether friendship, jealousy, or desperation will ultimately guide his hand in this tense thriller of passion and betrayal.

The Too Perfect Alibi

Originally Aired: January 13, 1949
Suspense #323, "The Too Perfect Alibi," stars Danny Kaye as Sam Rogers, a man hopelessly in love with Catherine, the woman of his dreams. When Catherine and her fiancé Jack Stewart announce they're getting married on Monday, Sam's world shatters. Catherine is lovely and kind, while Jack is a handsome former football hero now working as a clerk in a sports shop. Despite his resentment of Sam's generosity and wealth, Jack accepts Sam's offer of help securing a lucrative position as sales manager at Allegheny Sporting Goods, asking only that Catherine not know about Sam's involvement. What Jack doesn't realize is that Sam has no intention of helping him get the job.
Consumed by jealousy and desperation, Sam hatches an elaborate plan to eliminate his rival before the Monday wedding. He carefully constructs what he believes is the perfect alibi, attending a party where he makes sure to be seen by numerous guests throughout the evening. At precisely ten o'clock, Sam slips away to meet Jack under a dark tree on a street corner, his murderous scheme ready to unfold.