| "Of the radio programs I remember with the most clarity, the only one that properly belongs in the Danse Macabre was Suspense
|
| "Of the radio programs I remember with the most clarity, the only one that properly belongs in the Danse Macabre was Suspense
|
TWENTY YEARS OF THRILLS AND CHILLS
Written by Martin Grams, Jr.
Just what is frightening Judy Garland? The shock of finding out that her character on this week's episode of Suspense is not going to have a happy ending!Over thirty-five years ago, the famous radio / television program Suspense went off the air, never to return to the airwaves again. During the program's twenty-year run, top stars of Hollywood and Broadway took up roles that they were not usually associated with on stage and screen. Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lee Bowman, Agnes Moorehead, Ann Sothern, Laird Cregar, Mickey Rooney, and hundreds of others make numerous appearances.
Only on Suspense could you hear Jack Benny play the role of a life-threatening Martian, Robert Taylor go against a werewolf, Ronald Coleman battle a slimy, tentacled monster from hell, Orson Welles attempting to keep a human brain alive in a jar, and Frank Sinatra playing the role of a psychopath with a knife.
Only on Suspense could you see Basil Rathbone change from the good Dr. Jekyll to the evil Mr. Hyde, Mike Wallace go out of his way to acquire an interview with death, and Jack Palance play Cagliostro the magician in a game of chess.
Mad scientists, ghosts, murderers on the loose, psychopaths, and foreign spies were just a few to surface on the program. Dead bodies fell from closets, bedroom curtains, secret panels, and a few were even dumped out onto the street from passing cars. Suspense was, and still is, an "outstanding theatre of thrills."
Now, after all these years, the entire history of the series is available under one cover. Over 400 pages with memories from Roddy McDowall, Anne Nelson, Rosemary Rice, Ross Murray, Ray Kemper, Ralph Bell, Ray Bradbury, John Michael Hayes, Lucille Fletcher, June Havoc, Parley Baer, and many others!
Suspense: Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills is expanded with a detailed log of all the mystery magazines, comic books, novels, and movies that spawned from Suspense. A complete reference book for any and all radio / television / film Suspense fans!
Suspense: Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills documents the origin of the series, the performers who appeared most frequently, the writers and how many of the stories came about, technical challenges that cropped up for the sound effects artists, and how and why the series left the airwaves after twenty years.
Read about the scripts that were turned down due to "inappropriate" material, the stars who were originally scheduled for various episodes but never had the chance tor perform, and the Suspense scripts that were adapted for the big screen such as Dangerous Crossing (1953), Dark City (1950), and Sorry, Wrong Number (1948).
Read about the producers and directors of the series, what they personally felt about their series, and the stories each of them preferred to present.
Read about the sponsors and announcers for the entire twenty years of broadcast. The book also includes a list of awards and nominations the series won, and a broadcast log detailing all 945 radio episodes and all 260 television episodes. (See sample below, one episode taken from the actual log inside the book!)
Sample from the broadcast log in the book.
Episode # 430 "FRESH AIR, SUNSHINE, AND MURDER" Aired on May 24, 1951
Starring: Jeff Chandler, Jack Kruschen, Cathy Lewis, Lou Merrill, Clayton Post,
and Herb Vigran.
Joseph Kearns is Suspense Announcer.
Written for Suspense by Richard George Pedicini.
Produced and Directed by Elliott Lewis.
Sponsored by Auto-Lite; Bert Holland, and Harlow Wilcox are pitchmen.
Music composed by Lucien Morawek and conducted by Lud Gluskin.
Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King's 1949 song "The Tennessee Waltz" is played.
Story: Zack and Frankie open a health studio and soon business is bombing. Zack
starts flirting with the wife of a big-time dealer who happens to be a regular customer.
He thinks nothing of his flirtations until her husband finds out. Then he gets a real "work out"
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Name __________________________________ Address _________________________________ City / State / Zip ___________________________ |
Date ___/___/___ # of Copies _____ Total $ _________ |
Visa and Mastercard accepted. Call (717) 456-6208 Fax (717) 456-5692
Mail order form to: SUSPENSE BOOK, P.O. Box 189, Delta PA 17314
Please make checks or money orders out to: Martin Grams, Jr.
Autographed copies are available, please call for info.
The perfect bed-side companion to one of the greatest anthology programs of all time!
You Want it, we have it, and you can't go to bed without it!
