Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

A Man in the House: Terror Behind Locked Doors

Originally Aired: August 2, 1945
 
In Suspense #152, “A Man in the House,” a dutiful daughter named Emily Barrett finds her quiet, dutiful life overturned when a scarred and dangerous intruder breaks into her home and refuses to leave. Trapped in a decaying house with a domineering invalid mother and a madman with a gun, Emily must maintain a façade of normalcy at work while secretly enduring a terrifying hostage situation at home. As the man grows more unstable and Emily’s mother grows weaker, the tension mounts—until a shocking sacrifice forces a harrowing confrontation. A claustrophobic thriller of psychological torment and survival.
 
Cast:
Joan Loring, Joseph Kearns
 
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, psychological, hostage, JoanLoring, JosephKearns, amaninthehouse, oldtimeradio, mystery, captivity, gaslight, vintagehorror, 1940sradio, classicdrama, homeinvasion, suspensepodcast

Bank Holiday: Love, Loyalty, and a Hostage’s Test

Originally Aired: July 19, 1945
 
In Suspense #150, “Bank Holiday,” junior bank teller Jane Evans thinks the biggest challenge to her engagement with assistant manager Harold Osborne is the bank’s no-romance policy—until a routine Friday morning turns into a harrowing ordeal. When two armed robbers burst in and take her hostage, Jane is plunged into a day of blindfolded getaways, desert chases, and tense standoffs in a remote mountain cabin. As danger closes in, she learns that loyalty can take many forms—and that the difference between the “right guy” and the “wrong guy” isn’t always what it seems. A taut crime drama blending romance, moral choices, and unrelenting suspense.
 
Cast:
Bonita Granville
 
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, crime, bankrobbery, hostage, BonitaGranville, 1940sradio, classiccrime, moralchoices, getaway, desertchase, mountainstandoff, vintageaudio, oldtimeradio, policestandoff, betrayal, rightguywrongguy, suspensepodcast

Footfalls: A Blind Cobbler’s Vigil and Vengeance

Originally Aired: July 12, 1945
 
In Suspense #149, “Footfalls,” blind cobbler Boaz Negro lives a quiet life with his delicate son, Manuel—until a charming bank clerk named Campbell Wood rents a room in their home. When a fire destroys the house, Wood is presumed dead, government funds vanish, and Manuel disappears, accused of murder and theft. Boaz insists his son is innocent and waits nine long years for the true killer to return. When the fateful footsteps finally come, the cobbler’s patient ears and steady hands deliver justice in a grim, unforgettable reckoning.
 
Cast:
J. Carroll Naish
 
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, mystery, oldtimeradio, revenge, blindprotagonist, JCarrollNaish, justice, vintagecrime, radiohorror, 1940sradio, patience, murder, wrongfulaccusation, suspensepodcast

The Last Detail: Murder, Movie Sets, and the Cage of the Mind

Originally Aired: July 5, 1945
In Suspense #148, “The Last Detail,” George Coulouris stars as Professor Leland Moffat, a psychology expert who is lured from his quiet life into a bizarre underworld plot. A mysterious letter from Los Angeles invites him to review a groundbreaking experiment—but the “experiment” becomes a deadly game. Trapped by ruthless gangsters, a fake census taker, and a diabolical crime boss, Moffat finds himself the unwilling star of a frame-up: forced to “murder” a man on a Hollywood replica of his own home. But when the real police come knocking, Moffat realizes Carlotti’s plan is perfect—except for one last, chilling detail in his own cellar. A psychological thriller about guilt, deception, and the inescapable prison of conscience.
Cast:George Coulouris
Tags:Suspense, thriller, GeorgeCoulouris, TheLastDetail, oldtimeradio, crime, psychological, noir, frameup, 1940sradio, classicdrama, gangsters, movieSet, guilt, suspensepodcast

The Dealings of Mr. Markham: Murder, Blackmail, and the Double’s Game

Originally Aired: June 28, 1945
In Suspense #147, “The Dealings of Mr. Markham,” Henry Daniell stars as the sinister and enigmatic Charles Markham, an antique dealer who has turned blackmail into a fine art. When desperate Judith Ray and her fiancé Ronald Gilbert confront Markham in his shadowy shop to end his threats, the night spirals into murder. But in a world of doubles and hidden motives, the truth is never as simple as it seems. Who really died—and who got away with murder? John Dickson Carr crafts a diabolical web of guilt, deception, and poetic justice, where not even the audience escapes complicity.
Cast:Henry Daniell, Joan Loring, Gavin Gordon
Tags:Suspense, thriller, JohnDicksonCarr, HenryDaniell, TheDealingsOfMrMarkham, oldtimeradio, blackmail, murdermystery, doubles, identity, 1940sradio, classicdrama, deception, guilt, suspensepodcast

The Story of Ivy: Poison, Ambition, and the Making of a Murderess

Originally Aired: June 21, 1945
In Suspense #146, “The Story of Ivy,” Anne Richards stars as Ivy Lexton—a dazzling beauty driven by desperation, pride, and an unyielding hunger for luxury. Ivy’s charm masks her cold ambition as she leaps from the poverty of Soho into a marriage of convenience, only to find herself penniless, entangled with lovers, and consumed by envy. When an opportunity presents itself—pure poison, literally—her path turns deadly. A husband’s lingering illness, a scandalous love triangle, and a string of fatal “coincidences” lead Scotland Yard to her door. In a chilling confession, Ivy reveals the truths and self-deceptions of a woman who would do anything for status—even as the hangman waits. An audacious tale of femme fatale psychology and ruin.
Cast:Anne Richards
Tags:Suspense, thriller, MaryBellocLowndes, AnneRichards, TheStoryOfIvy, oldtimeradio, murderess, femmefatale, arsenic, ambition, 1940sradio, classicdrama, Britishnoir, greed, suspensepodcast

The Burning Court: Poison, Past Lives, and the Fires of Revenge

Originally Aired: June 14, 1945
In Suspense #145, “The Burning Court,” Clifton Webb stars in John Dickson Carr’s celebrated mystery, weaving a web of gothic intrigue, murder, and supernatural echoes from centuries past. When Ted Covington discovers a portrait of an infamous poisoner who is the spitting image of his young wife Marie, he’s drawn into a chilling conspiracy after his wealthy uncle dies under suspicious circumstances. As secrets unravel—a vanished body, a hidden ancestry, and ghostly vengeance—skeptics and believers alike are pulled toward a shocking, fiery climax. A diabolical tale of love, legacy, and fate, where the sins of the past may refuse to stay buried.
Cast:Clifton Webb
Tags:Suspense, thriller, mystery, JohnDicksonCarr, CliftonWebb, TheBurningCourt, oldtimeradio, poison, gothic, supernatural, 1940sradio, classicdrama, reincarnation, burningcourt, suspensepodcast, familysecrets

Two Sharp Knives: Murder, Money, and the Fatal Trap

Originally Aired: June 7, 1945
In Suspense #144, “Two Sharp Knives,” a late-night poker game leads Chief of Police Scott Anderson and his loyal assistant Wally Shane straight into a tangled web of deceit, murder, and betrayal. When a wanted man from Philadelphia steps off the train in Deerwood, Anderson thinks he’s just doing his job. But the man—Lester Furman—is dead by morning, an apparent suicide in his jail cell, and nothing about his arrest adds up. As the investigation unravels, secrets are exposed: a forged reward notice, a missing wife, and a plot worth half a million dollars. In a shocking climax, Anderson discovers the killer is much closer than he ever imagined. A taut, twisty drama by Dashiell Hammett, expertly performed by John Payne and Frank McHugh.
Cast:John Payne, Frank McHugh
Tags:Suspense, thriller, crime, DashiellHammett, JohnPayne, FrankMcHugh, TwoSharpKnives, oldtimeradio, murdermystery, policeprocedural, betrayal, 1940sradio, classicdrama, femmefatale, suspensepodcast, forgery

August Heat: Premonitions and the Madness of a Scorching Day

Originally Aired: May 31, 1945
In Suspense #143, “August Heat,” Ronald Colman stars as James Clarence Withencroft, a solitary artist who is struck by a sudden, inexplicable urge to sketch the face of a stranger. On an oppressively hot day, Withencroft wanders aimlessly through the city—only to stumble upon a monumental mason whose appearance matches his sketch exactly. When the mason reveals a gravestone with Withencroft’s name and today’s date inscribed, a chain of uncanny coincidences unfolds. With the threat of death hanging in the air and the suffocating heat clouding reason, both men struggle with fate, dread, and the chilling possibility of murder. A classic tale of foreboding and psychological suspense.
Cast:Ronald Colman, Dennis Hoey
Tags:Suspense, thriller, psychological, fate, coincidence, RonaldColman, DennisHoey, AugustHeat, oldtimeradio, mystery, premonition, destiny, 1940sradio, classicdrama, gothic, suspensepodcast, heatmadness

My Own Murderer: The Lawyer, the Fugitive, and the Most Dangerous Game

Originally Aired: May 24, 1945
In Suspense #142, “My Own Murderer,” Herbert Marshall stars as Richard Sampson, a reserved solicitor whose world is upended when his old acquaintance Alan Rennick confesses to murder and begs for help. As Richard weaves a clever plan to save Alan—hiding him, faking a death, enlisting two women, and risking his own neck—he finds himself drawn deeper into a web of blackmail, betrayal, and cold-blooded calculation. But not everyone can be trusted, and not every murder stays in the past. A battle of wits ensues, with morphia, double-crosses, and a “suicide” gone wrong, leading to a twist that asks: who is the true murderer, and who is the real victim? A psychological chess match where everyone has something to lose.
Cast:Herbert Marshall, Norman Lloyd
Tags:Suspense, psychological, HerbertMarshall, NormanLloyd, oldtimeradio, murder, blackmail, lawyer, doublecross, morphia, escape, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast