Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

Night Comes Riding: A Woman Torn, a Killer Reborn

Originally Aired: May 22, 1947
In Suspense #246, “Night Comes Riding,” Mildred Anderson endures a loveless, oppressive marriage, haunted by the mysterious death of her nephew. When a soft-spoken stranger named Duncan Shaw appears, offering comfort and kindness, she sees a chance at escape—and perhaps at love. But Duncan has secrets of his own, and a buried vendetta against her husband. As the shadows deepen and tensions mount, betrayal, murder, and madness converge in a tale that gallops toward a grim climax. A psychologically rich noir about guilt, manipulation, and the terrifying price of freedom.
Cast:Virginia Bruce, Wally Maher, Howard Duff
Tags:Suspense, thriller, noir, psychological, betrayal, VirginiaBruce, WallyMaher, HowardDuff, oldtimeradio, mystery, revenge, vintagecrime, 1940sradio, classicdrama, femmefatale, suspensepodcast

Death at Live Oak: A Parachute Plan, a Dead Ringer, and a Widow’s Perfect Alibi

Originally Aired: May 15, 1947
In Suspense #245, “Death at Live Oak,” down-on-his-luck David Sutherland meets a mysterious woman who mistakes him for her estranged husband—and suddenly finds himself the centerpiece of a deadly scheme. When the husband turns out to be his doppelgänger, a chilling plan unfolds: impersonate him, kill him in a faked plane crash, and take his identity. But even the best-laid murder plots can unravel under the weight of guilt, missteps, and a single elevator boy’s memory. Robert Mitchum stars in this gripping tale of deception, identity, and poetic justice.
Cast:Robert Mitchum, Mary Jane Croft
Tags:Suspense, thriller, RobertMitchum, doppelgänger, identitytheft, noir, murderplot, planecrash, oldtimeradio, 1940sradio, suspensepodcast, alibi, mistakenidentity, femmefatale, twistending, guilt

Dead Ernest: A Dropped Jacket, a Lost Bracelet, and a Body That Wasn’t

Originally Aired: May 8, 1947
In Suspense #244, “Dead Ernest,” Dennis Bowers is struck by a car and presumed dead. But Bowers suffers from catalepsy—a condition that mimics death—and he carries a letter and bracelet warning against embalming. When both go missing, his body is taken to the morgue with no one the wiser. As kids melt his ID bracelet for scrap and a secondhand shop sells his blood-stained jacket, Bowers inches closer to being embalmed alive. Only a nosy housewife, a smudged pair of glasses, and a twitch at the last second stand between life and a horrific mistake. Wally Mayer stars in this black comedy of errors and suspense.
Cast:Wally Mayer
Tags:Suspense, thriller, WallyMayer, catalepsy, mistakenidentity, embalming, blackcomedy, morgue, oldtimeradio, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast, nearburiedalive, PeabodyAward, closecall, medicalthriller

Lady in Distress: A Rainy Road, a Loaded Gun, and a License to Kill

Originally Aired: May 1, 1947
In Suspense #243, “Lady in Distress,” Evelyn Harris picks up a drifter on a stormy roadside—only to discover he's an escaped convict with a vendetta against her husband, police officer Ralph Harris. But Evelyn’s not so innocent herself. As she manipulates her dangerous passenger into carrying out her own deadly plan, the stakes spiral toward an explosive finale in a darkened garage. Ava Gardner and Howard Duff star in this twist-laden tale of betrayal, seduction, and revenge, where every turn in the road tightens the noose.
Cast:Ava Gardner, Howard Duff
Tags:Suspense, thriller, AvaGardner, HowardDuff, noir, betrayal, escapedconvict, garagebomb, revenge, policewife, oldtimeradio, 1940sradio, suspensepodcast, femmefatale, twistending, explosive

Win, Place and Murder: A Dead Bookie, a Bag of Cash, and a Private Eye’s Last Bet

Originally Aired: April 24, 1947
In Suspense #242, “Win, Place and Murder,” down-on-his-luck private eye Chris Draper stumbles into a deadly horse-betting racket when a mysterious client named Pilsen pays him to retrieve a black bag. But Pilsen is no ordinary accountant—he’s just murdered a bookie and is on the run with the payroll. As Draper navigates crooked cops, jealous lovers, and one unforgettable filly named Mosquito, he finds that every lead comes with a catch and every favor costs more than it’s worth. Richard Conte stars in this wisecracking noir where money talks, but a bullet still has the last word.
Cast:Richard Conte, Wally Maher
Tags:Suspense, thriller, RichardConte, noir, horsebetting, bookie, murdermystery, oldtimeradio, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast, privateeye, getaway, payrollrobbery, twistending, gambling

Green-Eyed Monster: A Letter Opener, a Wedding Night, and the Woman in the Trunk

Originally Aired: April 17, 1947
In Suspense #241, “Green-Eyed Monster,” Michael Dawson seems like the perfect grieving widower—until he remarries, and his second wife begins to stir old obsessions. Haunted by jealousy and guilt, Michael spirals into paranoia, suspecting Judy of being a serial killer. But when she turns up dead in the same trunk where he once hid his first wife’s body, the twist cuts both ways. Lloyd Nolan delivers a riveting performance in this psychological shocker, where possession, madness, and misdirection meet a sharp brass letter opener.
Cast:Lloyd Nolan, Cathy Lewis
Tags:Suspense, thriller, LloydNolan, CathyLewis, jealousy, murder, noir, serialkiller, psychological, twistending, oldtimeradio, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast, trunkmurder, letteropener, gaslight

Community Property: A Spiteful Marriage, a Fatal Prescription, and a Lawyer’s Last Laugh

Originally Aired: April 10, 1947
In Suspense #240, “Community Property,” George Mason’s marriage is a powder keg of resentment, jealousy, and greed. When his ailing uncle promises him a $500,000 inheritance, George finally sees a future without his bitter wife Lois—and begins planning a way to cut her out entirely. Under California’s community property laws, divorce would mean splitting the windfall. So George goes another route: he fakes reconciliation, spikes her warm milk, and waits for the drugs to take effect. But a prescription swap, a meddling doctor, and a cruel twist of law leave George with blood on his hands—and nothing in the bank. Kirk Douglas stars in this razor-sharp tale of murder and miscalculation.
Cast:Kirk Douglas, Cathy Lewis
Tags:Suspense, thriller, KirkDouglas, murderplot, inheritance, noir, classicdrama, oldtimeradio, 1940sradio, suspensepodcast, poison, prescription, fatalmistake, communityproperty, darkcomedy, marriagegonewrong

The Swift Rise of Eddie Albright: A Uniform Swapped, a Carpet Clue, and a Killer’s Confession

Originally Aired: April 3, 1947
In Suspense #239, “The Swift Rise of Eddie Albright,” elevator operator Eddie dreams of success and romance, but a white lie to impress a manicurist snowballs into a deadly misadventure. When Eddie recognizes a fugitive gangster from his days running the penthouse car, he tries to play hero—only to find himself framed, stripped of his uniform, and mistaken for the very killer he sought to expose. A body in a carpet, a swapped jacket, and a last-second shootout form the twists in this fast-talking noir starring Phil Silvers in a rare dramatic role.
Cast:Phil Silvers
Tags:Suspense, thriller, PhilSilvers, mistakenidentity, noir, crimecomedy, gangster, oldtimeradio, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast, elevatorboy, underdoghero, deadbody, impersonation, shootout

Suspicion: A Sick Feeling, a Wicked Cook, and the Woman Upstairs

Originally Aired: August 12, 1942
In Suspense #9, “Suspicion,” respectable Englishman Hubert Mummery starts to feel unwell after breakfast—and can’t shake a creeping unease. His new young wife, Ethel, seems fine. The new housekeeper, Sutton, is all kindness. But then a neighbor mentions a notorious poisoner, Carolyn Andrews, still at large and possibly posing as a domestic servant. When Mummery finds newspaper clippings cut out and weed killer stored beside the soup, his stomach pain takes on a new dread. Charles Ruggles delivers a masterful performance in this quietly mounting tale of fear, deduction, and a finale that proves appearances can be fatally deceiving.
Cast:Charles Ruggles
Tags:Suspense, thriller, CharlesRuggles, poisonplot, mistakenidentity, oldtimeradio, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast, arsenic, domesticterror, twistending, gaslight, Britishmystery, CarolynAndrews, psychological

You Take Ballistics: A Cigarette Trick, a .32 Slug, and a Cop’s Gut Feeling

Originally Aired: March 13, 1947
In Suspense #236, “You Take Ballistics,” Homicide Lieutenant Ed Harvey arrests Clarence Coleman for the murder of a bookie—but the case nearly collapses when ballistics reveals that Coleman’s gun doesn’t match the murder slug. While others are ready to let Coleman walk, Harvey’s instincts scream otherwise. When a cheap book of cigarette papers in Coleman’s suit sparks a wild theory, Harvey reconstructs the murder weapon with a sleight-of-hand bullet switch that stuns even the lab. Howard Da Silva delivers a gritty, relentless performance in this gripping police procedural from the pen of Cornell Woolrich.
Cast:Howard Da Silva
Tags:Suspense, thriller, CornellWoolrich, HowardDaSilva, policeprocedural, ballistics, noir, forgedevidence, oldtimeradio, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast, crossfire, trickbullet, detectiveintuition