By 1963 all dramatic radio had abandoned American radio broadcasting going the way of music and talk programs. With the rise of television, the networks and sponsors didn’t want to invest in radio drama. The model in this country called for dollars coming in from sponsors to support dramatic radio.
Pacifica Radio, a West Coast network of Public Radio stations produced at least one series beginning in 1964. Produced in Berkely, California, the series was called Mathew Slade, Private Investigator and starred William Wintersole.
Music under is “My Ideal” performed by Art Tatum.
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In 1949, writers/producers approached John Dickson Carr, to host a new series they were creating called Murder By Experts. Carr agreed to host this unique mystery series in which then-famous authors of classic mystery would select a drama to be aired. The episode for this podcast was written by Joseph Ruscoll (left) and was a more lighthearted approach to classic murder with a twist.
When Howard Duff was blacklisted briefly in the early fifties his series, The Adventures of Sam Spade was dropped by the Columbia Broadcasting System. At that time, he had already recorded an episode for Suspense called “A Murderous Revision.” But fearing repercussions CBS decided to shelve the completed recording and broadcast another episode instead. The episode with Duff was never broadcast, though a newly re-created version of the script was aired starring Richard Widmark in the role of Chris Turner in December of 1951. The Duff version was thought lost until it turned up via an Armed Forces Radio disc a few years ago. Though in circulation, it rarely is heard since it isn’t officially attached to the Suspense broadcast canon.
A look at one of radio finest radio dramatists for the Mystery genre – expert in locked room mysteries. Born in America, but spent a lifetime in the United Kingdom, Carr wrote scripts for the Suspense radio program including this one which features an ending with a twist. This episode stars Michael Fitzmaurice and Lesley Woods, who you will recognize as Mary Wesley in the Boston Black radio series.
Guns of Navarone director J. Lee Thompson began as a playwright and sometime radio writer. This podcast I am featuring a radio play based upon his stage play and which was heard on the Molle Mystery Theater. This is an excellent example of a radio drama which uses full dialogue and vocal spacing to present an effectively chilling thriller.
A look at the roman noir or black fiction adapted for radio. Specifically, the Cornell Woolrich wrote a number of short stories he later expanded into novels; a move for the better with much improved storylines. In 1946, he wrote “They Call Me Patrice” which he expanded into his last great novel in 1948 under the title I Married A Dead Man. It was then made into a film in the early fifties starring Barbara Stanwyck and called “No Man of Her Own.”
With this podcast, a look at a classic work of fiction by Charles Dickens. While not normally identified with crime fiction, his Mystery of Edwin Drood certainly fits that category. The book was never finished in Dickens’ lifetime, but others have speculated an ending. The story of both the unfinished book and Dickens own life are both studies in detective fiction. This Elliot Lewis production from Suspense in January 1953 is a two part that I have joined together.
A look at the writer, Raymond Chandler. He is considered one of several innovators of the hardboiled American detective story. Most readers know Chandler from his iconic detective – Philip Marlowe. However, the author wrote a number of other stories using other detectives living on hard times. While Dashiell Hammett was a big influence on the writer, Frederick Nebel, another pulp writer possibly shares equal credit as an influence.