Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

Six Feet Under

Originally Aired: April 13, 1950
Suspense #380, "Six Feet Under," finds carnival performer Jack Daly trapped in more ways than one. Ten hours a day, he lies buried alive in a coffin while paying customers stare down at him through a glass window, his survival dependent on an air pump that seems to beat in rhythm with his heart. Above ground, Jack drowns his misery in whiskey, haunted by the knowledge that he abandoned his dreams of a successful juggling act for this morbid spectacle. His beautiful wife Miriam seems increasingly distant, and Jack's suspicions grow darker when Cliff, a former accountant who inexplicably joined the carnival, admits he's dying and would do anything to make Miriam happy, even kill Jack.
As tensions escalate, Jack finds himself caught in a deadly triangle. Cliff buries him each day and digs him up each night, holding Jack's life literally in his hands. When Jack overhears a conversation between Miriam and Cliff about making things different after tomorrow night, his worst fears seem confirmed. Trapped six feet under with only his paranoid thoughts for company, Jack must wonder whether the air pump will keep running or if this performance will be his last.

Salvage

Originally Aired: April 6, 1950
Suspense #379, "Salvage," stars Van Johnson as Danny Connor, a down-on-his-luck pilot who gets an unexpected visit from his ex-flame, Gloria Davis. She offers him a lucrative flying job working for her husband, Wendell H. Davis, and his newly formed Intercontinent Salvage Corporation. The company claims to be in the business of recovering Spanish gold from sunken galleons in the Caribbean, and Davis needs Connor to scout ahead of their salvage vessel by air. The job pays ten thousand dollars, but Connor must follow orders, keep quiet, and ask no questions.
Despite the generous pay, Connor grows increasingly uneasy about the operation. The salvage ship is a decrepit old tub that barely looks seaworthy, and Davis's vague answers and insistence on secrecy raise red flags. When Connor learns they'll be flying across the Gulf of Mexico in a cheap war surplus plane, his suspicions deepen. As the ship prepares to sail, Connor confronts Gloria in the darkness, admitting he's considering backing out of the dubious venture before it's too late.

Blood Sacrifice

Originally Aired: March 30, 1950
Suspense #378, "Blood Sacrifice," presents Joseph Cotten as John Scales, a playwright whose success is entirely tied to the brilliant actor Garrick Drury. After a triumphant meeting about film rights to their hit play "Bitter Laurel," disaster strikes outside the theater when a car skids out of control. Gary is thrown through a storefront window, severing an artery in his arm. As the actor bleeds out on his dressing room couch, frantic efforts to reach a doctor consume precious minutes. When help finally arrives, the physician determines that Gary needs an immediate blood transfusion to survive.
The situation becomes critical when the doctor reveals that Gary has a rare type three blood, requiring either an exact match or a universal donor. Gary's devoted valet Walters desperately volunteers to give his life for his employer, but the doctor must first test everyone present to find a compatible donor. As John Scales watches Gary's life slip away, he faces an impossible choice that will test the depths of his gratitude and the price of his newfound success.

One and One’s a Lonesome

Originally Aired: March 23, 1950
Suspense #377, "One and One's a Lonesome," Ronald Reagan stars as George Bellock, a man whose profitable side venture is about to collide with his boss's conscience. When Henry Grover left town for a two-month vacation, he entrusted George with managing his modest lumber yard. George saw opportunity and transformed the business, installing slot machines and gambling tables in the warehouse's back room. The money pours in like gangbusters, and George begins to believe he might own the place outright. Then Henry returns home with his new wife Marie, a sharp-tongued woman who immediately sizes up the situation and George himself.
When Henry discovers what George has done with his business, he's appalled and demands George remove all the illegal equipment immediately. But George has anticipated this confrontation and laid a trap: the gambling operation is registered in Henry's name, making the lumber yard owner legally responsible for everything. George offers to buy the business for fifteen thousand dollars, claiming he'll soon have the cash. With Marie watching the power struggle unfold and the threat of police involvement looming, Henry faces an impossible choice that could cost him everything.

Motive for Murder

Originally Aired: March 16, 1950
Suspense #376, "Motive for Murder," stars Alan Ladd as Detective Dave Murphy, whose world shatters when he comes home to find a murdered stranger in his apartment and his wife Mary passed out drunk beside the body. The victim, Victor Hamilton, supposedly came to demonstrate a vacuum cleaner, but no vacuum cleaner is found at the scene. All the evidence points to Mary: her fingerprints on the murder weapon, lipstick on the dead man's cheek, and whiskey on her breath. Even Dave's partner, Lieutenant Jock Dusan, can't fight the facts, though he tries to give his fellow officer every consideration.
Refusing to believe Mary is guilty, Dave turns in his badge to investigate on his own. Working from the principle that strangers rarely kill each other, he becomes convinced there must be a third party involved, someone who drugged or knocked out Mary, killed Hamilton, and staged the scene. Dave pursues his theory that Hamilton was murdered for that missing vacuum cleaner, following a trail that leads him to Hamilton's landlady. As the evidence mounts against his wife and pressure builds from the District Attorney's office, Dave races against time to find the real killer before the system he's always believed in destroys the woman he loves.

Banquo’s Chair

Originally Aired: March 9, 1950
Suspense #375, "Banquo's Chair," stars James Mason as Sir William Brent, the recently retired head of English criminal investigation, whose illustrious career has been marred by only one failure: the unsolved Bedford murder case. Three years ago, John Bedford brutally murdered his wealthy aunt, Miss Martha Ferguson, in the gloomy Victorian mansion known as Turret House, but his perfect alibi prevented Sir William from securing a conviction. Now, unable to let the case rest, the obsessive detective has spent three years planning an elaborate trap. He invites mystery writer Roberta Stone and crime reporter Arthur Grange to Turret House on a stormy November evening, instructing both to come armed. As Sir William explains his "diabolical scheme," he recreates the night of the murder in vivid detail, showing how Bedford strangled his aunt for her inheritance.
The detective reveals that Bedford himself will soon arrive for dinner, and shockingly, so will his victim, Miss Ferguson. Sir William's patient and methodical plan promises to finally bring the murderer to justice through an unconventional method that skirts the legal prohibition against trying Bedford twice for the same crime. The stage is set for a night of psychological manipulation and terror.

Lady Killer

Originally Aired: March 2, 1950
Suspense #374, "Lady Killer," stars Loretta Young as Peg Lincoln, a woman who buys a last-minute airplane ticket from a stranger named Nordlinger to catch a fully-booked flight. Aboard the plane, she meets the talkative Grant Benton, who strikes up a conversation just before Peg suddenly becomes violently ill. Benton rushes her to the hospital, where doctors discover symptoms of poisoning. While he appears to be her rescuer, Peg grows suspicious of Benton's overly attentive behavior and his suspiciously expert diagnosis of her condition.
As Peg recovers, her doubts deepen. She realizes the poison may have been intended for the woman whose ticket she purchased, and Benton's knowledge seems too convenient. When a telegram addressed to Miss Nordlinger mysteriously appears in her pocket after leaving the hospital, Peg confronts her supposed savior. Despite Police Chief Longman vouching for Benton's character, Peg cannot shake the feeling that the charming insurance investigator knows more about her near-death experience than he is letting on.

Slow Burn

Originally Aired: February 23, 1950
Suspense #373, "Slow Burn," Johnny Wilson stands in a dingy hotel room watching the clock tick toward midnight, waiting for the moment when the slow burn that has consumed him for three months will finally be satisfied. As he prepares to make a fateful phone call to sports reporter Todd Sloan, Johnny recounts the events that led him to this desperate moment. It all began when he fought in a Pennsylvania coal town and met Chuck Masters, a clean-cut Medal of Honor winner who asked Johnny to participate in a charity boxing exhibition. Johnny's manager Lefty Wilkins saw an opportunity: sign the war hero as their new fighter, use his wholesome image and congressional endorsement as the exploitation angle to attract promoter Courtney Barr's money, and eventually finance Johnny's own shot at the championship.
The plan seemed perfect until Johnny's cynical wife Dania entered the picture at the Copa Club, immediately antagonizing the idealistic Chuck with her bitter contempt for fighters and the parasites who live off them. As Johnny recalls how Chuck looked just like he did when starting out, the tension builds toward whatever terrible act drove Johnny into hiding, waiting for midnight to arrive so he can finally tell his story before the police close in.

Murder Strikes Three Times

Originally Aired: February 16, 1950
Suspense #372, "Murder Strikes Three Times," stars Marlene Dietrich as Laura, a woman whose husband Robert dies in a suspicious bathtub electrocution after his electric razor malfunctions. When Assistant District Attorney Elmer Garner arrives to investigate, he wastes no time confronting Laura with his theory: she murdered her husband for his hundred thousand dollar estate, using her background as a laboratory technician to tamper with the razor's electrical cord. Despite having no concrete proof, the clever and unscrupulous Garner boldly offers Laura a deal - pay him fifty thousand dollars and he'll make sure she goes free, or refuse and face his prosecution in court.
Laura remains remarkably composed throughout Garner's accusations and attempted extortion, refusing his offer and gambling that he cannot prove his case. The ruthless prosecutor makes good on his threat, taking Laura to trial and demanding the death penalty. But the episode title promises three murders, and this electrocution is only the first, suggesting that Laura's story is far from over and dark secrets remain to be revealed.

The Butcher’s Wife

Originally Aired: February 9, 1950
Suspense #371, "The Butcher's Wife," stars Kirk Douglas as Harry Carr, a New York transplant who lands a liquor clerk job at a Los Angeles supermarket. On his first day, Harry locks eyes with Mary, the checkout girl, and despite warnings from Nick the vegetable man that she's married, he can't resist the attraction. Mary's husband is Krause, the store's butcher—a creepy figure with thick glasses that make his eyes look like baseballs, constantly wielding cleavers and mallets as he works. Harry and Mary begin a reckless affair, staying out until the early morning hours, and when Mary finally comes home, Krause confronts her with jealous rage and strange biblical references about Babylon.
Though Krause doesn't yet know Harry's identity, the tension escalates as Harry tries to distance himself from the dangerous situation. He stays late at work to avoid Mary, terrified of what the unstable butcher might do if he discovers the truth. The stage is set for a violent confrontation as Harry finds himself trapped between desire and self-preservation, working just feet away from a jealous husband who spends his days expertly dismembering meat.