Tag Archives: Cornell Woolrich

Radio Detective Story Hour Episode 265 – Suspense: The Night Reveals

In 1934 at the height of the Great Depression, writer Cornell Woolrich decided to try to reinvent himself as a writer. He had spent most of the late twenties and early thirties attempting to be the next F. Scott Fitzgerald and he was getting nowhere despite a number of novels and short stories behind him some of which had a… (more…)

Radio Detective Story Hour Episode 253 – Suspense – Last Night

Cornell Woolrich wrote a short story under the pseudonym of William Irish which he titled The Red Tide. While the story was well written, the plotting was overly melodramatic and never was one of his better ones. In 1943, it is believed he was given an opportunity to write a radio play based on the story for the series Suspense.… (more…)

Radio Detective Story Hour Episode 233 – Escape: Papa Benjamin

Besides his fictional noir crime stories, author Cornell Woolrich under the pseudonym, William Irish, also explored exotic noir creating stories from the bayou among other locales. With Music From the Dark, aka Papa Benjamin, he created dark stories of voodoo and cult. The CBS radio series Escape under William N Robeson and Norman MacDonnell, took Irish’s story and added smokey,… (more…)

Radio Detective Story Hour Episode 209 – Cornell Woolrich and the Avenging Angel

One of author Cornell Woolrich’s dominant noir themes was that of the avenging angel or “l’ange noir.” In this podcast, I look at that theme, how the author came to it and offer a selection from the radio series Suspense called “Angel Face” in which the theme emerges. Many of Woolrich’s noir stories feature some variation of this “black angel”… (more…)

Radio Detective Story Hour Episode 170 – Suspense: Nightmare

This episode presents what I think is one of the best audio noir productions ever produced. Adapted from the Cornell Woolrich (as William Irish) short story – “And So to Death” – it is one of Woolrich’s best – pure noir. The adaptation preserves much of that aurally through the fabulous performances of Eddie Bracken and veteran radio actor William… (more…)