View source for Suspense (radio drama)

{{short description|Radio drama series (1940 to 1962)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox radio show
| show_name          = Suspense
| image              = Suspens1.jpg
| imagesize          = 260px
| caption            = [[Lurene Tuttle]] (left) and [[Rosalind Russell]]<br>in "The Sisters" on ''Suspense'' (1948)
| other_names        =
| format             = Drama and suspense
| runtime            = 30 minutes or one hour
| country            = United States
| language           = English
| home_station       = [[CBS Radio Network]]
| syndicates         =
| television         =
| starring           =
| creator            =
| writer             = {{unbulleted list|[[John Dickson Carr]], | [[Lucille Fletcher]], | Sigmund Miller, | [[E. Jack Neuman]], | [[Walter Newman (screenwriter)|Walter Newman]], | [[Louis Pelletier]], | [[Judson Philips|Hugh Pentecost]], | [[James Poe]], | [[Robert L. Richards]], | Larry Roman, | John Shaw, | Robert Tallman, | George Wells, | [[J. Donald Wilson]], | [[Mel Dinelli]]}}
| director           = {{unbulleted list|Ted Bliss, | John Dietz, | Fred Hendrickson, | [[Anton Leader]], | [[Elliott Lewis (radio)|Elliott Lewis]], | [[Norman Macdonnell]], | [[William N. Robson]], | Robert Lewis Shayon, | Charles Vanda, | [[Bruno Zirato Jr.]]}}
| producer           = {{unbulleted list|[[Norman Macdonnell]], | [[William Spier]], | [[William N. Robson]], | Bruno Zirato Jr.}}
| executive_producer =
| narrated           =
| record_location    =
| first_aired        = {{Start date|1942|6|17}}
| last_aired         = {{End date|1962|9|30}}
| num_series         =
| num_episodes       = 946
| audio_format       =
| opentheme          =
| endtheme           =
| website            =
| podcast            =
}}
'''''Suspense''''' is a [[radio drama]] series broadcast on [[CBS Radio]] from 1940 through 1962.<ref>''Suspense'', Premiere Episode: 1940-07-22, Final Episode: 1962-09-30.  http://otrrpedia.net/</ref>

One of the premier drama programs of the [[Old-time radio|Golden Age of Radio]], it was subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" and focused on [[Suspense (genre)|suspense thriller]]-type scripts, usually featuring leading Hollywood actors of the era. Approximately 945 episodes were broadcast during its long run, and more than 900 still exist.

''Suspense'' went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors, and director/producers. Formula plot devices were followed for all but a handful of episodes: 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.

In its early years, the program made only occasional forays into [[science fiction]] and [[fantasy]]. Notable exceptions include adaptations of [[Curt Siodmak]]'s ''[[Donovan's Brain]]'' and [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s "[[The Dunwich Horror]]", but by the late 1950s, such material was regularly featured.

==Alfred Hitchcock==
[[Alfred Hitchcock]] directed its audition show (for the [[CBS]] summer series ''Forecast''). This was an adaptation of ''[[The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog|The Lodger]]''<ref>[http://gaslight.mtroyal.ab.ca/lodger.htm "The Lodger"]</ref> a story Hitchcock had filmed in [[1926 in film|1926]] with [[Ivor Novello]]. [[Martin Grams Jr.]], author of ''Suspense: Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills'', described the ''Forecast'' origin of ''Suspense'':
<blockquote>
On the second presentation of July 22, 1940, ''Forecast'' offered a mystery/horror show titled ''Suspense.'' With the co-operation of his producer, [[Walter Wanger]], Alfred Hitchcock received the honor of directing his first radio show for the American public. The condition agreed upon for Hitchcock's appearance was that CBS make a pitch to the listening audience about his and Wanger's latest film, ''[[Foreign Correspondent (film)|Foreign Correspondent]]''. To add flavor to the deal, Wanger threw in [[Edmund Gwenn]] and [[Herbert Marshall]] as part of the package. All three men (including Hitch) would be seen in the upcoming film, which was due for a theatrical release the next month. Both Marshall and Hitchcock decided on the same story to bring to the airwaves, which happened to be a favorite of both of them: [[Marie Belloc Lowndes]]' "The Lodger." Alfred Hitchcock had filmed this story for Gainsborough in 1926, and since then it had remained as one of his favorites.

Herbert Marshall portrayed the mysterious lodger, and co-starring with him were Edmund Gwenn and character actress Lurene Tuttle as the rooming-house keepers who start to suspect that their new boarder might be the notorious [[Jack the Ripper|Jack-the-Ripper]]. [Gwenn was actually repeating the role taken in the 1926 film by his brother, [[Arthur Chesney]]. And Tuttle would work again with Hitchcock nearly 20 years later, playing Mrs. Al Chambers, the sheriff's wife, in ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]].''] Character actor [[Joseph Kearns]] also had a small part in the drama, and [[Wilbur Hatch]], head musician for CBS Radio at the time, composed and conducted the music specially for the program. Adapting the script to radio was not a great technical challenge for Hitchcock, and he cleverly decided to hold back the ending of the story from the listening audience in order to keep them in suspense themselves. This way, if the audience's curiosity got the better of them, they would write in to the network to find out whether the mysterious lodger was in fact Jack the Ripper. For the next few weeks, hundreds of letters came in from faithful listeners asking how the story ended. Actually a few wrote threats claiming that it was "indecent" and "immoral" to present such a production without giving the solution
</blockquote>

==1942–1962==
In the earliest years, the program was hosted by "The Man in Black" (played by [[Joseph Kearns]] or Ted Osborne) with many episodes written or adapted by the prominent mystery author [[John Dickson Carr]].

One of the series' earliest successes and its single most popular episode is [[Lucille Fletcher]]'s "[[Sorry, Wrong Number]]", about a bedridden woman ([[Agnes Moorehead]]) who panics after overhearing a murder plot on a crossed telephone connection but is unable to persuade anyone to investigate. First broadcast on May 25, 1943, it was restaged seven times (last on February 14, 1960){{snd}}each time with Moorehead. The popularity of the episode led to a [[Sorry, Wrong Number|film adaptation]] in 1948. Another notable early episode was Fletcher's "The Hitch Hiker" (aired September 2, 1942), in which a motorist ([[Orson Welles]]) is stalked on a cross-country trip by a nondescript man who keeps appearing on the side of the road; however, the first performance of "The Hitch-Hiker" actually took place on ''[[The Orson Welles Show (radio series)|The Orson Welles Show]]'' the previous year. "The Hitch-Hiker" was later [[The Hitch-Hiker (The Twilight Zone)|adapted for television]] by [[Rod Serling]] as a 1960 episode of ''[[The Twilight Zone]]''.

After the network sustained the program during its first two years, the sponsor became Roma Wines (1944–1947), and then (after another brief period of sustained hour-long episodes, initially featuring [[Robert Montgomery (actor)|Robert Montgomery]] as host and "producer" in early 1948),<ref>{{cite news|title=New 'Suspense' Series|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1948/1948-01-05-BC.pdf|access-date=22 March 2017|work=Broadcasting|date=January 5, 1948|page=36}}</ref> [[AlliedSignal|Autolite]] [[spark plug|Spark Plug]]s (1948–1954); eventually [[Harlow Wilcox (announcer)|Harlow Wilcox]] (of ''[[Fibber McGee and Molly]]'') became the pitchman. [[William Spier]], [[Norman Macdonnell]] and [[Anton M. Leader]] were among the producers and directors.

''Suspense'' received a Special Citation of Honor [[Peabody Award]] for 1946.<ref>{{cite news|title=Peabody Awards for '46 Announced|url=http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1947/1947-04-21-BC.pdf|access-date=26 September 2014|agency=Broadcasting|date=April 21, 1947}}</ref>

[[File:Suspensezine.jpg|left|thumb|Second issue of the 1946 magazine tie-in]]

The program's heyday was in the early 1950s, when radio actor, producer and director [[Elliott Lewis (radio)|Elliott Lewis]] took over (still during the Wilcox/Autolite run). Here the material reached new levels of sophistication.{{opinion|date=March 2023}} The writing was taut,{{opinion|date=March 2023}} and the casting, which had always been a strong point of the series (featuring such film stars as Orson Welles, [[Joseph Cotten]], [[Henry Fonda]], [[Humphrey Bogart]], [[Judy Garland]], [[Ronald Colman]], [[Marlene Dietrich]], [[Eve McVeagh]], [[Lena Horne]], and [[Cary Grant]]), took an unexpected turn when Lewis expanded the repertory to include many of radio's famous drama and comedy stars{{snd}}often playing against type{{snd}}such as [[Jack Benny]]. Jim and Marian Jordan of ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' were heard in the episode "Backseat Driver", which originally aired February 3, 1949.

The highest production values enhanced ''Suspense'', and many of the shows retain their power to grip and entertain.{{opinion|date=March 2023}} At the time he took over ''Suspense'', Lewis was familiar to radio fans for playing Frankie Remley, the wastrel guitar-playing sidekick to [[Phil Harris]] in ''[[The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show]]''. On the May 10, 1951 ''Suspense'', Lewis reversed the roles with "Death on My Hands": A bandleader (Harris) is horrified when an autograph-seeking fan accidentally shoots herself and dies in his hotel room, and a vocalist (Faye) tries to help him as the townfolk call for vigilante justice against him.

With the rise of television and the departures of Lewis and Autolite, subsequent producers ([[Antony Ellis]], [[William N. Robson]] and others) struggled to maintain the series due to shrinking budgets, the availability of fewer name actors, and listenership decline. To save money, the program frequently used scripts first broadcast by another noteworthy CBS anthology, ''[[Escape (radio program)|Escape]]''. In addition to these tales of exotic adventure, ''Suspense'' expanded its repertoire to include more science fiction and supernatural content. By the end of its run, the series was remaking scripts from the long-canceled program ''[[The Mysterious Traveler]]''. A [[time travel]] tale like [[Robert Arthur Jr.|Robert Arthur]]'s "The Man Who Went Back to Save Lincoln" or a thriller about a [[death ray]]-wielding [[mad scientist]] would alternate with more run-of-the-mill crime dramas.

The series expanded to television with the ''[[Suspense (U.S. TV series)|Suspense]]'' series on CBS from 1949 to 1954, and again in 1962. The radio series had a tie-in with ''Suspense'' magazine which published four 1946–47 issues edited by [[Leslie Charteris]].

The final broadcasts of ''[[Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar]]'' and ''Suspense'', ending at 7:00 pm Eastern Time on September 30, 1962, are often cited as the end of the [[Old-time radio|Golden Age of Radio]]. The final episode of ''Suspense'' was ''Devilstone'', starring Christopher Carey and Neal Fitzgerald. It was sponsored by [[Parliament (cigarette)|Parliament cigarettes]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Summer 2012|volume=38|issue=3|page=39}}</ref>

==Opening introductions==
There were several variations of program introductions. A typical early opening is this from April 27, 1943:
:(MUSIC ... [[Bernard Herrmann|BERNARD HERRMANN]]'S SUSPENSE THEME ... CONTINUES IN BG)

:THE MAN IN BLACK: Suspense!

:This is The Man in Black, here again to introduce Columbia's program, ''Suspense''.

:Our stars tonight are Miss Agnes Moorehead and Mr. Ray Collins. You've seen these two expert and resourceful players in "Citizen Kane" – "The Magnificent Ambersons" in which Miss Moorehead's performance won her the 1942 Film Critics' Award. Mr. Collins will soon be seen in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor film, "Salute to the Marines."

:Miss Moorehead and Mr. Collins return this evening to their first love, the CBS microphone, to appear in a study in terror by Lucille Fletcher called "The Diary of Sophronia Winters."

:The story told by this diary is tonight's tale of... suspense. If you've been with us on these Tuesday nights, you will know that Suspense is compounded of mystery and suspicion and dangerous adventure. In this series are tales calculated to intrigue you, to stir your nerves, to offer you a precarious situation and then withhold the solution... until the last possible moment. And so it is with "The Diary of Sophronia Winters" and the performances of Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins, we again hope to keep you in...

:(MUSIC: ... UP, DRAMATICALLY)

:THE MAN IN BLACK: ... ''Suspense!''<ref>''Suspense'', April 27, 1943.</ref>

==Recognition==
''Suspense'' was inducted into the [[National Radio Hall of Fame]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|title=Suspense|url=http://www.radiohof.org/suspense.htm|website=National Radio Hall of Fame|access-date=5 January 2016}}</ref>

Since 2007, Radio Classics (Sirius XM channel 148) has been airing episodes of ''Suspense''. The show is also streamed nightly at 7 pm Pacific time on kusaradio.com from the original masters.

==Satire==
The familiar opening phrase "tales well-calculated to..." was satirized by ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' as the cover blurb "Tales Calculated to Drive You... ''Mad''" on its first issue (October–November 1952) and continuing until issue #23 (May 1955).

Radio comedians [[Bob and Ray]] had a recurring routine lampooning the show called "Anxiety." Their character Commander Neville Putney told stories that were presented as dramatic but were intentionally mundane, with the opening line "A tale well designed to keep you in... Anxiety."

In the “Chicken Heart” sketch on his [[Wonderfulness]] album [[Bill Cosby]] relates radio programs during his youth “that were scary.”  One is Suspense.

==Theater==
For PowPAC, San Diego actor-director Robert Hitchcox mounted a 2006 stage production recreating two episodes of  ''Suspense'', complete with commercials, in a stage set designed like a CBS radio studio.<ref>[http://powpac.org/archives/2006/2006p3.php PowPAC: "Wrong Number & the Hitch-hiker"]</ref>

==Partial list of episodes of ''Suspense''==

===1940===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| July 22 || "The Lodger" || [[Herbert Marshall]] and [[Edmund Gwenn]] (Audition program)<ref name=twtd1/>
|}

===1942===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| June 17 || "The Burning Court" || [[Charlie Ruggles]]<ref name=s>{{cite magazine|last1=Elliott|first1=Jordan|title=Suspense!|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Summer 2012|volume=38|issue=3|pages=42–49}}</ref>
|-
|June 24 
|"Wet Saturday"
|Clarence Derwent
|-
|August 19 
|"The Cave of Ali Baba"
|[[Romney Brent]]
|-
| September 2 || "The Hitch-Hiker" || [[Orson Welles]]<ref name=twtd1/>
|-
|September 16 
|"The Kettler Method"
|[[Roger De Koven|Roger Dekoven]], John Gibson, [[Gloria Stuart]]
|-
|September 23 
|"A Passage to Benares"
|[[Paul Stewart (actor)|Paul Stewart]]
|-
| September 30 || "One Hundred in the Dark" || Eric Dressler and [[Alice Frost]]<ref name=twtd3>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Spring 2009|volume=35|issue=2|page=36}}</ref> 
|-
|October 27 
|"The Lord of the Witch Doctors"
|Nicholas Joy
|-
|November 3 
|"The Devil in the Summer House"
|[[Martin Gabel]]
|-
| November 10 || "Will You Make a Bet with Death?" || [[Michael Fitzmaurice (actor)|Michael Fitzmaurice]]
|-
|November 17 
|"Menace in Wax"
|Joe Julian
|-
|November 24 
|"The Body Snatchers"
|[[E. G. Marshall]]
|-
|December 1 
|"The Bride Vanishes"
|[[Hanley Stafford]], [[Lesley Woods]]
|-
|December 15 
|"Till Death Do Us Part"
|[[Peter Lorre]], [[Alice Frost]]
|-
|December 22 
|"Two Sharp Knives"
|[[Stuart Erwin]]
|}

===1943===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| January 5  || "Nothing Up My Sleeve"|| [[Elissa Landi]]<ref>{{cite news|title=(photo caption)|newspaper=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3976610/the_brooklyn_daily_eagle/ |date=January 4, 1943|location=New York, Brooklyn|page=8|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|-
|January 12 
|"The Pit and The Pendulum" 
|[[Henry Hull]] 
|-
| February 2  || "The Doctor Prescribed Death" || [[Bela Lugosi]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Autumn 2011|volume=37|issue=4|page=34}}</ref>
|-
|February 16 
|"In Fear and Trembling" 
|[[Mary Astor]]
|-
| June 22  || "The Man without a Body"|| [[John Sutton (actor)|John Sutton]], [[George Zucco]]<ref name=susv2>''Suspense vol. 2'', Blackstone Audio, 2015, CD {{ISBN|1-4815-1957-3}}</ref>
|-
| July 6  || "The White Rose Murders"|| [[Maureen O'Hara]]<ref name=ndw16>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Winter 2016|volume=42|issue=1|page=32}}</ref> 
|-
|July 20 
|"Murder Goes for a Swim"
|[[Warren William]] 
|-
| August 3  || "A Friend to Alexander"|| [[Robert Young (actor)|Robert Young]], [[Geraldine Fitzgerald]]<ref name=susv2/>
|-
| August 21  || "[[Sorry, Wrong Number#Radio play|Sorry, Wrong Number]]" || [[Agnes Moorehead]]<ref name=twtd1/>
|-
| August 28  || "The King's Birthday"|| [[Dolores Costello]], [[Martin Kosleck]], [[George Zucco]], [[Ian Wolfe]]<ref name=susv2/>
|-
| September 9  || "Marry for Murder"|| [[Lillian Gish]], [[Ray Collins (actor)|Ray Collins]], [[Bramwell Fletcher]]<ref name=susv2/>
|-
| November 2  || "Statement of Employee Henry Wilson"|| [[Gene Lockhart]]<ref name=susv2/>
|-
| November 16  || "Thieves Fall Out"|| [[Gene Kelly]], [[Hans Conried]], [[William Johnstone (actor)|William Johnstone]]<ref name=susv2/>
|-
|November 23 
|"The Strange Death of Charles Umberstein"
|[[Vincent Price]]
|-
|December 2 
|"The Black Curtain" 
|[[Cary Grant]] 
|}

===1944===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| January 6  || "One Way Ride to Nowhere" || [[Alan Ladd]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Dinah Offers Good Variety|newspaper=The Decatur Daily Review |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3976641/the_decatur_daily_review/|date=January 6, 1944|location=Decatur, Illinois|page=13|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|-
| January 13  || "Dime a Dance"|| [[Lucille Ball]]<ref name=susv2/>
|-
| January 20  || "A World of Darkness"|| [[Paul Lukas]]<ref name=susv2/>
|-
| January 27 || "The Locked Room" || [[Virginia Bruce]] and [[Allyn Joslyn]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Bruce, Joslyn|newspaper=The Circleville Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3976827/the-circleville-herald/|date=January 25, 1944|location=Circleville, Ohio|page=7|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|-
| February 3  || "The Sisters" || [[Ida Lupino]] and Agnes Moorehead<ref>{{cite news|title=Story of Twins|newspaper=The Cumberland News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3976893/the_cumberland_news/ |date=February 3, 1944|location=Cumberland, Maryland|page=11|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|-
| February 10 || "Suspicion" || Charlie Ruggles<ref>{{cite news|title=Viva America Offers Evelyn|newspaper=The Decatur Daily Review |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3976920/the_decatur_daily_review/ |date=February 10, 1944|location=Decatur, Illinois|page=15|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|-
| February 24  || "Sorry, Wrong Number" (rebroadcast) || [[Agnes Moorehead]]<ref name=susv2/>
|-
| March 2  || "Portrait without a Face"|| [[Michèle Morgan]], [[Philip Dorn]], [[George Coulouris]]<ref name=susv2/>
|-
| March 9  || "The Defense Rests" || [[Alan Ladd]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Radio Day by Day|newspaper=The Decatur Daily Review |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3976972/the_decatur_daily_review/ |date=March 9, 1944 |location=Decatur, Illinois|page=15|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|-
|March 23 
|"Sneak Preview"
|[[Joseph Cotten]]
|-
|March 30 
|"Cat and Mouse"
|[[Sonny Tufts]]
|-
| April 6 || "The Woman in Red" || [[Katina Paxinou]]<ref>{{cite news|title='Suspense' Guest|newspaper=Harrisburg Telegraph |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3977077/harrisburg_telegraph/|date=April 1, 1944|location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|page=15|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|-
|April 13 
|"The Marvelous Barastro" 
|[[Orson Welles]] 
|-
| May 11  || "The Visitor"|| [[Eddie Bracken]]<ref name=susv2/>
|-
| May 18  || "Donovan's Brain" (Part 1) || [[Orson Welles]]{{r|twtd5|page1=35}} 
|-
| May 25  || "Donovan's Brain" (Part 2) || Orson Welles{{r|twtd5|page1=35}}
|-
|June 1 
|"Fugue in C Minor" 
|[[Ida Lupino]], [[Vincent Price]] 
|-
|June 8  
|"Case History of Edward Lowndes"
|[[Thomas Mitchell (actor)|Thomas Mitchell]], [[Donald Crisp]]
|-
|June 15  
|"A Friend To Alexander" 
|[[Geraldine Fitzgerald]]
|-
| June 22  || "The Ten Grand"|| Lucille Ball<ref name=susv2/>
|-
|July 7 
|"The Beast Must Die" 
|[[Herbert Marshall]] 
|-
|August 3 
|"Banquo's Chair" 
|[[Donald Crisp]] 
|-
|August 10 
|"The Man Who Knew How" 
|[[Charles Laughton]]
|-
|August 17 
|"The Diary Of Sophronia Winters"
|[[Agnes Moorehead]]
|-
|August 24
|"Actor's Blood" 
|[[Fredric March]] 
|-
|August 31 
|"The Black Path of Fear"
|[[Brian Donlevy]]
|-
| September 7  || "Voyage Through Darkness" || [[Olivia de Havilland]] and [[Reginald Gardiner]]<ref name=twtdsp16/> 
|-
|September 14 
|"You Will Never See Me Again" 
|Joseph Cotten 
|}

===1945===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| May 24  || "My Own Murderer" || [[Herbert Marshall]]<ref name=twtdsp16>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Spring 2016|volume=42|issue=2|page=33}}</ref> 
|-
| August 16  || "Short Order" || [[Joseph Kearns]], [[Gerald Mohr]] and Conrad Binyon.{{r|ndw11|page1=34}} 
|-
| September 20  || "Library Book" || [[Myrna Loy]]<ref name=ndw11>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Winter 2011|volume=37|issue=1|page=33}}</ref>
|}

===1946===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| February 21  || "Consequence" || [[James Stewart]]
|-
| March 21  || "The Lonely Road" || [[Gregory Peck]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Spring 2016|volume=42|issue=2|page=32}}</ref> 
|-
| June 27  || "Return Trip"|| [[Elliott Reid]]<ref name=twtd6>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Spring 2013|volume=39|issue=2|pages=32–39}}</ref> 
|-
| August 8  || "Dead Ernest" || [[Wally Maher]]<ref name=twtd1/>
|-
| October 17  || "The Man Who Thought He Was Edward G. Robinson" || [[Edward G. Robinson]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.otrsite.com/logs/logs1003.htm|title=Suspense … Episodic log}}</ref>
|-
| October 24  || "Dame Fortune" || [[Susan Hayward]]<ref name="ndsu17">{{cite magazine |title=Those Were the Days |magazine=Nostalgia Digest |date=Summer 2017 |volume=43 |issue=3 |page=33}}</ref>
|-
| November 21  || "Drive-In" || [[Judy Garland]]
|-
| December 5  || "The House in Cypress Canyon" || [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]]<ref name="ndsp17">{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Spring 2017|volume=43|issue=2|page=39}}</ref>
|}

===1947===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| January 30  || "Three Blind Mice" || [[Van Heflin]]
|-
| February 6  || "The End of the Road" || [[Glenn Ford]]
|-
| February 13  || "The Thirteenth Sound" || [[Agnes Moorehead]]
|-
| February 20  || "Always Room at the Top" || [[Anne Baxter]]
|-
| April 28 || "Summer Storm" || [[Henry Fonda]]
|-
| May 1  || "Lady In Distress" || [[Ava Gardner]]
|-
| May 22  || "Her Knight Comes Riding" || [[Virginia Bruce]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Radio's Golden Age|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Spring 2015|volume=41|issue=2|page=40}}</ref> 
|-
| June 12  || "Stand-In" || [[June Havoc]]<ref>Grams, Martin Jr. (1997) "Suspense:  Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills" Morris Publishing, Episode no. 249.</ref> 
|-
| June 19  || "Dead of Night" || [[Elliott Reid]]<ref name=twtd4>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Winter 2014|volume=40|issue=1|page=32}}</ref> 
|-
| August 28  || "Double Ugly" || [[June Havoc]] and [[Lloyd Nolan]]<ref>Grams, Martin Jr. (1997) "Suspense:  Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills" Morris Publishing, Episode no. 260.</ref> 
|-
| October 2  || "The Story of Markham's Death" || [[Kirk Douglas]]
|-
| October 30  || "Subway" || [[June Havoc]]<ref>Grams, Martin Jr. (1997) "Suspense:  Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills" Morris Publishing, Episode no. 269.</ref> 
|-
| November 20  || "One Hundred in the Dark" || [[Howard Duff]] and [[June Havoc]]<ref>Grams, Martin Jr. (1997) "Suspense:  Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills" Morris Publishing, Episode no. 272.</ref> 
|-
| December 19  || "Wet Saturday" || [[June Havoc]] and [[Boris Karloff]]<ref>Grams, Martin Jr. (1997) "Suspense:  Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills" Morris Publishing, Episode no. 276.</ref> 
|}

===1948===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| January 3  || "The Black Curtain" || [[Robert Montgomery (actor)|Robert Montgomery]]<ref name=rga1>{{cite magazine|title=Radio's Golden Age|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Summer 2012|volume=38|issue=3|pages=40–41}}</ref> 
|-
| January 10  || "The Kandy Tooth" || [[Howard Duff]]<ref name=ndsp17/>
|-
| January 24  || "The Black Angel / Eve" || [[June Havoc]] and [[Prince Michael Romanoff]]<ref>Grams, Martin Jr. (1997) "Suspense:  Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills" Morris Publishing, Episode no. 281.</ref> 
|-
| July 22  || "Deep Into Darkness" || [[Douglas Fairbanks Jr.]]
|-
|September 2 ||"The Morrison Affair"||[[Madeleine Carroll]] and [[Gerald Mohr]]
|-
| November 4 || "Death Sentence" || [[John Garfield]]
|-
| November 25 || "{{vanchor|The Screaming Woman}}" || [[Ray Bradbury]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Truesdale |first1=Dave |author1-link=Dave Truesdale |title=Suspense — "The Screaming Woman" by Ray Bradbury |url=https://tangentonline.com/oldtimeradio/suspense-qthe-screaming-womanq-by-ray-bradbury/ |website=[[Tangent Online]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241122181421/https://tangentonline.com/oldtimeradio/suspense-qthe-screaming-womanq-by-ray-bradbury/ |archive-date=November 22, 2024 |date=October 13, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|}

===1949===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| February 3  || "Backseat Driver" || [[Fibber McGee and Molly|Jim and Marian Jordan]]<ref name=twtd5>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Spring 2015|volume=41|issue=2|page=33}}</ref> 
|-
| April 21  || "The Copper Tea Strainer" || [[Betty Grable]], [[Raymond Burr]], and [[William Conrad]]<ref name=twtd1>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Summer 2012|volume=38|issue=3|pages=32–39}}</ref> 
|-
| May 5  || "Death Has A Shadow" || [[Bob Hope]] and [[William Conrad]]
|-
| May 26 || "The Night Reveals" || [[Fredric March]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Fredric March Will Be Star in Suspense |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sioux-city-journal/144657052/ |access-date=April 3, 2024 |work=Sioux City Journal |date=May 22, 1949 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403023818/https://www.newspapers.com/article/sioux-city-journal/144657052/ |archive-date=April 3, 2024 |page=10|via=[[Newspapers.com]] }}</ref>
|-
| January 24  || "Blind Date" || [[June Havoc]] and [[Charles Laughton]]<ref>Grams, Martin Jr. (1997) "Suspense:  Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills" Morris Publishing, Episode no. 352.</ref> 
|-
| November 24  || "The Long Wait" || [[Burt Lancaster]]
|-
| December 1  || "Mission Completed" || [[James Stewart]]<ref name=twtd2/>
|-
| December 15  || "The Flame Blue Glove" || [[Lana Turner]]
|}

===1950===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| February 9  || "The Butcher's Wife" || [[Kirk Douglas]]<ref name=nda16>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Autumn 2016|volume=42|issue=4|page=35}}</ref> 
|-
| March 2  || "Lady Killer" || [[Loretta Young]]<ref name=twtd7>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Winter 2013|volume=39|issue=1|pages=32–39}}</ref> 
|-
| March 23  || "One and One's a Lonesome" || [[Ronald Reagan]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Autumn 2011|volume=37|issue=4|page=33}}</ref>
|-
| September 7  || "The Tip" || [[Ida Lupino]], [[Joseph Kearns]], [[Jerry Hausner]], [[Hy Averback]], [[Henry Blair (child actor)|Henry Blair]]<ref>Palmer, Zuma (September 7, 1950). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-citizen-news/146074909/ "Opportunity to Serve Public and UN Passed Up by Local TV"]. Hollywood Citizen-News. p.&nbsp;22. Retrieved April 25, 2024.</ref>
|-
| November 16  || "On a Country Road" || [[Cary Grant]]<ref name=twtd1/>
|-
| November 23 || "Going, Going, Gone" || [[Ozzie Nelson]], [[Harriet Nelson|Harriet Hilliard]]<ref>{{cite news |title='Playhouse' Airs Holiday Program |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-times/148143241/ |access-date=May 27, 2024 |work=The Tampa Times |date=November 23, 1950 |page=19|via=[[Newspapers.com]] }}</ref>   
|}

===1951===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
|January 4 
|"Alibi Me"
|[[Mickey Rooney]], [[Peggy Webber]], [[Wally Maher]], [[Charlotte Lawrence]], [[Leo Cleary]]<ref>Palmer, Zuma (January 4, 1951). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-citizen-news/146700759/ "Radio-Television: Studio Audiences Always Provide Interesting Studies in Behavior"]. ''Hollywood Citizen-News''. p.&nbsp;22. Retrieved May 6, 2024.</ref>  
|-
| May 10  || "Death on My Hands" || [[Phil Harris]] and [[Alice Faye]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Radio's Golden Age|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Winter 2013|volume=39|issue=1|page=40}}</ref> 
|-
| September 17   || "Neal Cream, Doctor of Poison" || [[Charles Laughton]], [[Charles Davis (actor)|Charles Davis]], [[Betty Harford]], [[Jeanette Nolan]], [[Georgia Ellis]], [[Alma Lawton]], [[Herb Butterfield]], [[Joseph Kearns]]<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/127686228/?clipping_id=144865254 "Charles Laughton Stars Tonight on 'Suspense'"]. ''The Des Moines Register''. September 17, 1951. p.&nbsp;13. Retrieved April 6, 2024.</ref><ref>Old Time Radio Archive (February 14, 2017). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MX6ruBGnZo&t=1712s "Suspense | Ep439 | "Neal Cream, Doctor of Poison"]. YouTube.</ref>
|-
| September 24  || "The McKay College Basketball Scandal" || [[Tony Curtis]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Radio's Golden Age|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Winter 2011|volume=37|issue=1|page=41}}</ref>
|}

===1952===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| June 2  || "A Good and Faithful Servant" || [[Jack Benny]] and [[Gerald Mohr]] {{r|ndw11|page1=37}} 
|-
| October 6  || "The Diary of Dr. Pritchard" || [[Sir Cedric Hardwicke]], [[Paula Winslowe]], [[Alma Lawton]], [[Norma Varden]], [[Ben Wright (English actor)|Ben Wright]]<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/324135353/?clipping_id=144703091 "Airglances: Cedric Hardwicke Plays Poisoner"]. ''Des Moines Tribune''. October 6, 1952. p.&nbsp;11. Retrieved April 6, 2024.</ref>
|-
| October 20  || "The Death of Barbara Allen" || [[Anne Baxter]]
|-
| December 22  || "Arctic Rescue" || [[Joseph Cotten]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Radio's Golden Age|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Autumn 2011|volume=37|issue=4|page=41}}</ref>
|}

===1953===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| February 9  || "The Man Who Cried Wolf" || [[Joseph Kearns]]
|-
| February 16  || "The Love And Death of Joaquin Murrieta" || [[Victor Mature]]
|-
| May 4  || ''[[Othello]]'' || [[Elliott Lewis (actor)|Elliott Lewis]], [[Cathy Lewis]], and [[Richard Widmark]]<ref name=ndsp14>{{cite magazine |title=Those Were the Days |magazine=Nostalgia Digest |date=Spring 2014 |volume=40 |issue=2 |page=33}}</ref>
|-
| May 11  || ''Othello'' || Elliott Lewis, Cathy Lewis, and Richard Widmark<ref name=ndsp14/>
|-
| December 14  || ''[[The Mystery of Marie Roget]]'' || Cornel Wilde<ref name=ndsp14/>
|-
| December 21  || "[['Twas the Night Before Christmas]]" || [[Greer Garson]]<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Those Were the Days |magazine=Nostalgia Digest |date=Autumn 2012 |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=38–39}}</ref>
|}

===1954===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| March 8  || "Circumstantial Terror" || [[Ronald Reagan]]
|-
| March 29  || "Somebody Help Me" || [[Cornel Wilde]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Summer 2016|volume=42|issue=3|page=34}}</ref>
|-
| April 12  || "Parole to Panic" || [[Broderick Crawford]]<ref name=twtd2/>
|-
| August 3  || "Goodnight, Mrs. Russell" || [[Virginia Gregg]] and [[Vic Perrin]]{{r|ndw16|page1=37}} 
|-
| November 18  || "Blind Date" || [[Shirley Mitchell]] and [[Vic Perrin]]<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Those Were the Days |magazine=Nostalgia Digest |date=Spring 2014 |volume=40 |issue=2 |page=32}}</ref>
|}

===1955===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| April 5  || "Zero Hour" || [[John Dehner]] (narrator)<ref name=twtd1/>
|-
| May 17  || "Lili and the Colonel" || [[Ramsay Hill]], [[John Alderson (actor)|John Alderson]], [[Paula Winslowe]], [[Larry Thor]] (narrator)<ref>[[Keith Scott (voice actor)|Scott, Keith]] (2021). ''[https://archive.org/details/ScottSuspense2021/page/155/mode/2up?q=%22ramsay+hill%22 Suspense : A Log of the Famous, Long-Running Radio Series]''. Internet Archive. p.&nbsp;156.</ref>
|-
| July 26  || "Greatest Thief" || [[Ben Wright (English actor)|Ben Wright]]<ref name=otrsite>{{cite web|title=Suspense Log|url=http://www.otrsite.com/logs/logs1003.htm|website=Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs}}</ref>
|-
| October 25  || "To None a Deadly Drug" || [[Harry Bartell]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Autumn 2017|volume=43|issue=4|page=32}}</ref>
|-
| November 15  || "Once a Murderer" || [[Ben Wright (English actor)|Ben Wright]]<ref name=otrsite/>
|-
| December 13  || "A Present for Benny" || [[Jack Kruschen]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Autumn 2016|volume=42|issue=4|page=36}}</ref>
|}

===1956===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| March 1  || "The Waxworks" || [[William Conrad]] (narrator){{r|twtd3|page1=39}} 
|-
| July 25  || "The Tramp" || [[Ben Wright (English actor)|Ben Wright]]<ref name=otrsite/>
|-
| October 23  || "The Doll" || [[Patty McCormack]]{{r|twtd7|page1=39}} 
|}

===1957===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| June 30  || "The Yellow Wallpaper" || Agnes Moorehead, [[Joe De Santis]]
|-
| August 18  || "Peanut Brittle" || [[Skip Homeier]]<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Those Were The Days |magazine=Nostalgia Digest |date=Winter 2018 |volume=44 |issue=1 |page=32}}</ref> 
|-
| August 25  || "Leinengen vs. the Ants" || [[William Conrad]]<ref name=otrsite/>
|}

===1958===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| April 20  || "Alibi Me" || [[Stan Freberg]]<ref name=twtd2>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Summer 2015|volume=41|issue=3|pages=32–39}}</ref> 
|}

===1959===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| January 4  || "Don't Call Me Mother" || [[Agnes Moorehead]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Radio's Golden Age|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Spring 2013|volume=39|issue=2|pages=40–41}}</ref> 
|}

===1961===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| December 17  || "Yuletide Miracle" || [[Larry Haines]] and [[Santos Ortega]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Autumn 2011|volume=37|issue=4|page=38}}</ref>
|-
| December 31  || "The Old Man" || [[Leon Janney]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Those Were the Days|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|date=Autumn 2011|volume=37|issue=4|page=39}}</ref>
|}

===1962===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Title !! Star(s)
|-
| September 30  || "Devilstone" || Christopher Carey and [[Neil Fitzgerald]]<ref name=twtd1/>
|}

==Revival==
{{Update section|date=September 2016}}
In 2012, John C. Alsedek and Dana Perry-Hayes of Blue Hours Productions revived ''Suspense'' for [[Sirius XM Radio]], recording all-new scripts including originals and adaptations of works by the likes of [[H.P. Lovecraft]], [[Cornell Woolrich]], and [[Clark Ashton Smith]]. The ''Suspense'' revival is currently airing on nearly 250 radio stations worldwide, and nominated for a Peabody Award.

===Season One episodes===
# "[[Cool Air]]", starring Adrienne Wilkinson & Daamen Krall
# "The Pipes of Tcho Ktlan", starring Daamen Krall & Rocky Cerda
# "[[The Return of the Sorcerer]]", starring Tucker Smallwood & Ron Bottitta
# "Proof in the Pudding", starring Adrienne Wilkinson & Christina Joy Howard
# "The Devil‘s Saint", starring Daamen Krall & Christopher Duva
# "Gag Reflex", starring Daamen Krall & Elizabeth Gracen
# "[[The Graveyard Rats]]", starring Daamen Krall & Christopher Duva
# "An Ungentle Wager", starring Elizabeth Gracen & Adrienne Wilkinson
# "The Fire of Asshurbanipal", starring Christopher Duva & Steve Moulton
# "The Walls Between Us", starring Adrienne Wilkinson & Rocky Cerda
# "[[The Horla]]", starring Christopher Duva & Elizabeth Gracen
# "Essence", starring Dana Perry-Hayes & Skyler Caleb
# "[[The Hounds of Tindalos]]", starring Christopher Duva & Daamen Krall
# "Madeline’s Veil", starring Dana Perry-Hayes & Rocky Cerda
# "Wet Saturday", starring Daamen Krall & Adrienne Wilkinson
# "Forest of the Dark Unbound", starring Catherine Kamei & Elizabeth Gracen
# "[[Who Goes There?]]" starring Steve Moulton & Sean Hackman
# "De Vermis Manorum", starring Elizabeth Gracen & John Lauver
# "The Night Reveals", starring David Collins & Susan Eisenberg
# "[[The Ebb-Tide|Ebb Tide]]", starring Christopher Duva & Adrienne Wilkinson
# "Far Below", starring Daamen Krall & Catherine Kamei
# "Behind Every Great Man..." starring Brett Thompson & Adrienne Wilkinson
# "[[Pigeons From Hell]]", starring Scott Henry & Daniel Hackman
# "Red Rook, White King...Black Cat", starring Adrienne Wilkinson & David Collins

==See also==
[[File:Suspensead.png|frameless|right]]
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[Suspense (U.S. TV series)|''Suspense'' (U.S. TV series)]]
*''[[Academy Award (radio)|Academy Award]]''
*''[[Author's Playhouse]]''
*''[[The Campbell Playhouse (radio series)|The Campbell Playhouse]]''
*''[[Cavalcade of America]]''
*''[[CBS Radio Mystery Theater]]''
*''[[CBS Radio Workshop|The CBS Radio Workshop]]''
*''[[Ford Theatre]]''
*''[[General Electric Theater]]''
*''[[Lux Radio Theater]]''
*''[[The Mercury Theatre on the Air]]''
*''[[Screen Director's Playhouse]]''
*''[[The Screen Guild Theater]]''
*''[[The United States Steel Hour]]''
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
*[http://www.old-time.com/otrlogs2/sus.log.txt Frank M. Passage log: ''Suspense'']
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Suspense}}
*[http://www.escape-suspense.com/ ''Escape'' and ''Suspense'']
*{{Internet Archive|OTRR_Suspense_Singles|''911 episodes of Suspense''}}
*[http://www.oldtimeradioreview.com/suspense Old Time Radio Review: ''Suspense''] – episode reviews
*[http://www.otrplotspot.com/suspense.html OTR Plot Spot: ''Suspense''] – plot summaries and reviews.
*[http://way-back-when.net/shows/thriller/suspense ''Suspense'' on Way Back When]
*[http://bluehills.club/podcast/Suspense 'Podcast Feed']
*[https://www.otroutlaws.com/game/suspense Suspense on Old Time Radio Outlaws]
{{Fantasy and science fiction radio programs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suspense (Radio Program)}}
[[Category:1942 radio dramas]]
[[Category:American radio dramas]]
[[Category:CBS Radio programs]]
[[Category:1940s American radio programs]]
[[Category:1950s American radio programs]]
[[Category:1960s American radio programs]]
[[Category:Anthology radio series]]
[[Category:Fantasy radio programs]]
[[Category:Horror fiction radio programmes]]
[[Category:American science fiction radio programs]]
[[Category:Edgar Award–winning works]]
[[Category:Peabody Award–winning radio programs]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings]]