Stars on Suspense (Old Time Radio)

Set sail with the stars of The Sea Wolf, the adaptation of Jack London's adventure novel that stars Edward G. Robinson as a tyrannical captain. His co-stars in the movie include Ida Lupino and John Garfield, and we'll hear all three of them in radio thrillers from Suspense: Mr. Garfield in "Reprieve" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 10, 1945); Ms. Lupino in "Summer Night" (originally aired on CBS on July 15, 1948); and Mr. Robinson in "You Can't Die Twice" (originally aired on CBS on March 31, 1949). Plus, Robinson recreates his film role on Screen Directors' Playhouse (originally aired on CBS on February 3, 1950).

With the Fourth of July - and America's 250th birthday - only a few days away, our movie of the week is Yankee Doodle Dandy - the Oscar-winning musical biopic of George M. Cohan. James Cagney took home an Academy Award for his performance as the composer who gave us songs like "Over There" and "You're a Grand Old Flag." We'll hear both of Mr. Cagney's Suspense appearances - "Love's Lovely Counterfeit" (originally aired on CBS on January 17, 1948) and "No Escape" (originally aired on CBS on December 16, 1948). And he recreates his film role as The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre presents Yankee Doodle Dandy (originally aired on CBS on October 19, 1942).

Hit the trail with the stars of Stagecoach - John Ford's western classic that announced John Wayne as one of Hollywood's legendary leading men. The film follows a gang of passengers on a dangerous trip through Apache country, and we'll hear two of those riders - Claire Trevor and Thomas Mitchell - whose performance won him an Academy Award. Mitchell stars in "John Barbie and Son" (originally aired on CBS on February 22, 1945) and Ms. Trevor stars in "The Blue Hour" (originally aired on CBS on September 25, 1947) and "The Light Switch" (originally aired on CBS on May 12, 1949). Plus, Claire Trevor and the Duke himself reunite in a production of the film from Screen Directors' Assignment (originally aired on NBC on January 9, 1949).

Hop in your Model T and fly courtesy of "flubber" with the stars of The Absent-Minded Professor and its sequel Son of Flubber. The Disney classics concern the titular man of science whose new invention is a very hot commodity, but the discovery may cost him the love of his long-suffering fiancee. We'll hear five of the stars of the film and its sequel in stories from Suspense: Charles Ruggles in "The Burning Court" (originally aired on CBS on June 17, 1942); Keenan Wynn in "I Had an Alibi" (originally aired on CBS on January 4, 1945); Elliot Reid in "Return Trip" (originally aired on CBS on June 27, 1946); Leon Ames in "An Evening's Diversion" (originally aired on CBS on July 4, 1946); and Fred MacMurray in "The Great Train Robbery" (originally aired on CBS on April 13, 1953).

It's off to Sherwood Forest with two of the stars of The Adventures of Robin Hood, the 1938 lavish Technicolor production that pits Errol Flynn's Robin against Basil Rathbone's vile Sir Guy. It's one of the best (maybe the best) film adaptation of the classic legend, and it still thrills audiences today. We'll hear Olivia de Havilland (Maid Marian) in "Voyage Through Darkness" (originally aired on CBS on September 7, 1944) and Alan Hale, Sr. (Little John) in "The Leading Citizen of Pratt County" (originally aired on CBS on May 30, 1946). Plus, Edmond O'Brien stars in a radio retelling of Robin Hood from Family Theatre (originally aired on Mutual on July 27, 1949). Check out this TCM special on the making of The Adventures of Robin Hood!

Join us for a journey 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with the stars of Walt Disney's special effects-laden big screen adaptation of Jules Verne's science fiction adventure. We'll hear the film's four stars - James Mason, Kirk Douglas, Paul Lukas, and Peter Lorre - in old time radio thrillers: Mr. Lorre in "The Moment of Darkness" (originally aired on CBS on April 20, 1943); Mr. Lukas in "A World of Darkness" (originally aired on CBS on January 20, 1944); Mr. Douglas in "The Butcher's Wife" (originally aired on CBS on February 9, 1950); and Mr. Mason in "Banquo's Chair" (originally aired on CBS on March 9, 1950). Plus, the original story is recreated for radio with Gene Lockhart on Family Theatre (originally aired on Mutual on April 22, 1953).

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is the rare epic-length comedy - over three hours long with a cast that includes Spencer Tracy, the Three Stooges, and nearly everyone in between. The movie follows a crazy cast on the hunt for hidden loot, and we'll hear six of the film's stars in radio thrillers: Phil Silvers in "The Swift Rise of Eddie Albright" (originally aired on CBS on April 3, 1947); Mickey Rooney in "The Lie" (originally aired on CBS on April 28, 1949); Milton Berle in "Rave Notice" (originally aired on CBS on October 12, 1950); Jack Benny in "Plan X" (originally aired on CBS on February 2, 1953); Ethel Merman in "Never Follow a Banjo Act" (originally aired on CBS on February 1, 1954); and Jim Backus in "See How He Runs" (AFRS rebroadcast from April 19, 1959).

Hailed by many as the greatest film ever made, Citizen Kane was the debut feature from Orson Welles and featured many of his colleagues from the Mercury Theatre productions of Broadway and radio. We'll hear Mr. Welles and his co-stars in radio thrillers: Ray Collins in "Marry for Murder" (originally aired on CBS on September 9, 1943); Welles in "Lazarus Walks" (AFRS rebroadcast from October 19, 1943); Joseph Cotten in "You'll Never See Me Again" (originally aired on CBS on September 14, 1944); George Coulouris in "The Long Shot" (AFRS rebroadcast from January 31, 1946); Agnes Moorehead in "The Evil of Adelaide Winters" (originally aired on CBS on September 10, 1951); and Everett Sloane in "Alibi" (AFRS rebroadcast from July 7, 1957).

Some of radio's funniest performers trade skits for Suspense in radio thrillers starring the cast of The Jack Benny Program. This collection of regular players and recurring guest stars kept audiences in stitches on Sunday nights but had listeners on the edge of their seats when "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" came on the air. We'll hear Joseph Kearns in "Short Order" (originally aired on CBS on August 16, 1945); Ronald Colman in "A Vision of Death" (originally aired on CBS on March 8, 1951); Phil Harris with Alice Faye in "Death on My Hands" (originally aired on CBS on May 10, 1951); Jack Benny in "A Good and Faithful Servant" (originally aired on CBS on June 2, 1952); and Dennis Day in "Like, Man, Somebody Dig Me" (originally aired on CBS on August 16, 1959.) Plus Jack Benny and his gang present their own version of Suspense (originally aired on CBS on January 6, 1952).

We're going back to school with the stars of the classic radio sitcom Our Miss Brooks starring in Suspense thrillers. First, Eve Arden - the titular English teacher of Madison High - stars in "The Well-Dressed Corpse" (originally aired on CBS on January 18, 1951). Then, Jeff Chandler - bashful biology teacher Mr. Boynton - stars in "The Steel River Prison Break" (originally aired on CBS on September 3, 1951). Finally, Richard Crenna - squeaky-voiced teen Walter Denton - stars in "Night on Red Mountain" (originally aired on CBS on January 11, 1959). Plus, we'll hear the cast in an episode of Our Miss Brooks (originally aired on CBS on May 28, 1950).

We wrap up this month of my favorite movies with Seven Days in May - John Frankenheimer's tense Cold War drama about a planned coup d'etat in the United States. With a script from Rod Serling and an amazing cast, it's a thriller that holds up over sixty years later. We'll hear three of its stars: Kirk Douglas, who plays the Army officer who discovers the plot; Edmond O'Brien as the rascally senator enlisted to help save the day; and Fredric March as the president facing removal - a man committed to doing the right thing even if it's unpopular. Douglas stars in "The Story of Markham's Death" (originally aired on CBS on October 2, 1947); O'Brien stars in "Muddy Track" (originally aired on CBS on November 11, 1948); and March stars in "The Night Reveals" (originally aired on CBS on May 26. 1949). Plus - a bonus Suspense story of Cold War espionage: "The Case for Dr. Singer" (originally aired on CBS on June 28, 1951).

My month of personal favorites continues with two for the price of one - my favorite Suspense episodes adapted from the stories of Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite writers. He's best known for his science fiction stories, but the tales here are (mostly) down to earth tales of thrills and chills. Dana Andrews is a cop hunting a killer in "The Crowd" (originally aired on CBS on September 21, 1950); a children's game may hide a sinister secret in "Zero Hour" (originally aired on CBS on April 5, 1955); Jeanette Nolan takes the long way home in "The Whole Town's Sleeping" (originally aired on CBS on June 14, 1955); and a crew of astronauts makes their final voyage in "Kaleidoscope" (originally aired on CBS on July 12, 1955).

This week, I'm sharing another of my favorite movies - Carol Reed's classic noir drama set on the streets of postwar Vienna The Third Man. Orson Welles makes one of his most memorable screen appearances as the charming rogue Harry Lime, and Joseph Cotten is Holly Martins, Lime's friend who struggles to face the truth about his pal's criminal nature. We'll hear the two stars in Suspense shows - Welles in "The Dark Tower" (originally aired on CBS on May 4, 1944) and Cotten in "Fly By Night" (originally aired on CBS on September 28, 1950). Then, Cotten recreates his film role in a Lux Radio Theatre presentation (originally aired on CBS on April 9, 1951), and finally Welles stars again as Lime in an episode of the radio series The Lives of Harry Lime - "Clay Pigeon."

My month of favorite movies continues this week with Superman - the 1978 film that brought the Man of Steel to the big screen and still holds up as one of the best entries in its genre. We'll hear two of its stars: Glenn Ford, who played Jonathan Kent, the adopted father of the future Superman, and Jackie Cooper, who ran the Daily Planet newsroom as editor Perry White. Ford stars in "The End of the Road" (originally aired on CBS on February 6, 1947) and Cooper stars in "The Clock and the Rope" (originally aired on CBS on December 5, 1947). Then, we'll hear the inaugural episodes of Superman's radio series - a six-part story that brings him from Krypton to Metropolis and to his first showdown with a supervillain (originally aired between February 12 and February 23, 1940).

For April, I'm featuring some of my favorite movies with their stars appearing in tales well calculated to keep you in Suspense. First up is Witness for the Prosecution, Billy Wilder's engrossing courtroom drama adapted from the story by Agatha Christie. We'll hear the stars of the film - Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, Marlene Dietrich, and Tyrone Power - in radio thrillers as well as a recreation of the Christie story. Real-life husband and wife Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester star in "The ABC Murders" - another Christie story (originally aired on CBS on May 18, 1943). Ms. Dietrich stars in "Murder Strikes Three Times" (originally aired on CBS on February 16, 1950), and Mr. Power headlines "The Guilty Always Run" (originally aired on CBS on March 22, 1954). Then we'll hear "Witness for the Prosection" presented on The Mollé Mystery Theatre (AFRS rebroadcast from May 31, 1946).

Our month-long series of Best Picture winning movies and their stars concludes with All the King's Men - the story of a populist politician who rides into office in an anti-corruption campaign and leaves mired in scandal. We'll hear its two Oscar-winning stars in episodes of Suspense: Broderick Crawford in "Dutch Schultz" (originally aired on CBS on October 26, 1953) and Mercedes McCambridge in "America's Boyfriend" (AFRS rebroadcast from July 21, 1957). Then, The NBC University Theatre presents a radio adaptation of the Robert Penn Warren novel that inspired the film (originally aired on NBC on January 16, 1949).

Our parade of Best Picture winners continues with Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend - a harrowing portrayal of alcoholism that also netted a Best Actor Oscar for its star, Ray Milland. We'll hear Mr. Milland, along with his co-stars Jane Wyman and Howard Da Silva, in episodes of Suspense, plus a radio recreation of the film. Mr. Da Silva stars in "You Take Ballistics" (originally aired on CBS on March 13, 1947), Ms. Wyman stars in "Catch Me if You Can" (originally aired on CBS on February 17, 1949), and Mr. Milland stars in "Chicken Feed" (originally aired on CBS on September 8, 1949). Then Milland and Wyman reunite in The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre (originally aired on CBS on January 7, 1946), and Ray Milland joins Jack Benny in a spoof of the film (originally aired on NBC on March 10, 1946).

Our month of Best Picture Oscar winners continues with All About Eve - where Anne Baxter's ambitious Eve inserts herself into the life of Bette Davis' legendary Broadway star with a plan to steal the actress's crown. We'll hear Ms. Baxter and Ms. Davis - both Oscar nominees for their performances - in stories from Suspense and a Lux Radio Theatre recreation of the film. Anne Baxter fights to get ahead in the cutthroat world of advertising in "Always Room at the Top" (originally aired on CBS on February 20, 1947), and Bette Davis is menaced by a madman in "Goodnight, Mrs. Russell" (originally aired on CBS on October 20, 1949). Then the stars reunite on the Lux broadcast of "All About Eve" (originally aired on CBS on October 10, 1951).

With the Academy Awards ceremony only a few weeks away, we're kicking off a new month-long series of Best Picture Oscar winners with Gentleman's Agreement - Elia Kazan's searing indictment of antisemitism. We'll hear three of the film's stars - Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and John Garfield - in episodes of Suspense. Garfield stars in "Death Sentence" (originally aired on CBS on November 4, 1948); Peck in "Murder Through the Looking Glass" (originally aired on CBS on March 17, 1949); and McGuire headlines "Last Confession" (originally aired on CBS on September 15, 1949). Plus, Peck recreates his role in a Lux Radio Theatre adaptation (originally aired on CBS on September 20, 1948).

Our month of classic Hollywood romance wraps up with the picture that gave us one of the most iconic scenes in film history - From Here to Eternity, the wartime romantic drama featuring the love scene on the beach between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr with the waves crashing over them. We'll hear Mr. Lancaster and Ms. Kerr along with Frank Sinatra - who took home an Oscar for his performance - in three tales of Suspense. First it's Ol' Blue Eyes menacing Agnes Moorehead in "To Find Help" (AFRS rebroadcast from January 18, 1945). Next, Burt Lancaster is out to make a killing in the mining business in "The Big Shot" (originally aired on CBS on September 9, 1948). Finally, Deborah Kerr is a beautiful jewel thief out for revenge on the partner who double crossed her in "The Lady Pamela" (originally aired on CBS on March 31, 1952).