Suspense: 04/26/51, episode 425
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project
Anne Baxter stars in the second broadcast of this script, and delivers a fine performance. She plays a neurotic woman who murders her husband and is then haunted by a horrific sound that reminds her of her evil deed. That sound, like nails against a blackboard, is used by law enforcement, to have her admit to the crime and bring her to justice. The original broadcast was on 1947-02-13 in the Roma Wines period. Details about that production of this Cathy and Elliott Lewis script are at suspenseproject.blogspot.com/... and is where the recordings may be streamed or downloaded.
The recording of this 1951 broadcast is missing its opening announcements, first Auto-Lite ad, and the beginning of the drama. This is about 4 minutes of the broadcast. The disc was likely badly damaged from its edge and could not be played in that area. But, the 1947 recording is intact, and the script for the 1951 performance is available. That means that there are two ways to get the opening of the drama.
The first way is to listen to about the first two minutes and twenty seconds of the 1947 recording, linked above. The second way is to read the dialogue from the 1951 script, below, prior to listening to the Baxter production:
SOUND: A SPEEDING AUTOMOBILE… A TORTUROUS ROAD
SALLY: We were driving too fast. But I knew that If slowed down at all I would begin to tremble. And so, although the road was torturous, climbing steeply up the mountain, I kept my foot pressed hard on the accelerator. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that my husband was looking quietly into the green valley far below. I wondered he would do if I and told him right then that we were driving up to the Johnson house go that I might kill him.
CAR TO STOP
HUSBAND: Can't you drive up to the house?
SALLY: I don't think so.
HUSBAND: (grunts) Alright.
SOUND: OPEN CAR DOOR... THEY GET OUT... CLOSE IT. STEPS UP DIRT WALK
HUSBAND: (cue) Dusty. All over my shoes.
SOUND: THEY STOP
SALLY: Come on, please. Must we take all day?
HUSBAND: Your idea, my love.
SALLY: You asked me to find a smaller house. You requested that it be out of town. You demanded that I grant you a divorce and allow you to live your own life.
HUSBAND: No reason why you should be upset... Have a key?
SALLY: Yes. I seem to have forgotten it.
HUSBAND: Now you drive back? You made me come all the way up here, and now you forgot it?
SALLY: There's a window at the side.
SOUND: THEY WALK DIRT THROUGH NEXT TWO LINES
HUSBAND: Am I to break it?
SALLY: I believe it's left open.
HUSBAND: I passed the age of crawling through windows.
SALLY: I'll help you... The window was set high above the ground, and my husband had to [1951 recording begins here] stretch his body to reach it. I waited until he had his back to me, with his hands raised high In the air, reaching for the window frame. Then I opened my purse, took out the gun, aimed very carefully at a spot just in the center of his left shoulder blade, and pulled the trigger four times.
SOUND: ONE SHOT
HUSBAND: Sally!
SOUND: THREE MORE SHOTS
John Stephenson, who portrays the husband, makes his first Suspense appearance. Nostalgia animation fans would recognize him as the first “Dr. Benton Quest” in early episodes of Jonny Quest and as the voice of “Mr. Slate,” Fred Flintstone’s boss, on The Flintstones television series… but all his lines in this drama are in the missing opening segment!
The original title of the script, prior to broadcast, was “Dying is Safer.”
The cast:
ANNE BAXTER (Sally Skinner), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Brown), Howard McNear (Coroner / Man), Florence Bates (Mrs. Banker), Norman Field (Mr. Banker), Sarah Selby (Woman), Anthony Barrett (Guy), Jim Nusser (Gardener), John Stephenson (Husband)
COMMERCIAL: Jerry Hausner, Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
For more information visit suspenseproject.blogspot.com/...