Will's Book Nook: Suspense (1940-1962)

 

Lurene Tuttle (left) and Rosalind Russell
in "The Sisters" on Suspense (1948)

 

 

 

Suspense was a long running radio show on CBS that had various different directors and hosts, including Alfred Hitchcock. It had the subtitle, "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" and followed a suspense-driven formula. According to Wikipedia, "the protagonist was usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation; solutions were "withheld until the last possible second"; and evildoers were usually punished in the end." I like the strong acting performances from leading Hollywood stars, such as Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre. One episode featured a man trying to cheat death, but it keeps showing up as if death were an actual person. He eventually catches up with him as a hitchhiker. The sound effects were creepy and effective and the twists and turns were suspenseful. So far I'd give it a 4 out of 5 scribbles. Sometimes the audio quality is a little lacking, given the age of the show.