Suspense is an American television anthology series that ran on CBS Television from 1949 to 1954. It was adapted from the radio program of the same name which ran from 1942 to 1962. A short-lived revival was then televised briefly on CBS in 1964.
Series overview The show was broadcast live from New York City to stations on CBS's eastern and midwestern networks. Kinescope recordings were made for transmission via KTTV in Hollywood. It was sponsored by the Auto-Lite corporation, and each episode was introduced by host Rex Marshall, who promoted Auto-Lite spark plugs, car batteries, headlights, and other car parts.
Some of the early scripts were adapted from Suspense radio scripts, while others were original for television. Like the radio program, many scripts were adaptations of literary classics by well-known authors. Classic authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, and Charles Dickens all had stories adapted for the series, while contemporary authors such as Roald Dahl and Gore Vidal also contributed. Many notable actors appeared on the program, including Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Cloris Leachman, Brian Keith, Franchot Tone, Robert Emhardt, Leslie Nielsen, Felicia Montealgre Bernstein and Lloyd Bridges.
The ninety existing episodes are available today on three DVD box sets. Tubi is also streaming episodes of the show.
In 1949, Marvel Comics began publishing Suspense comics licensed from CBS; a box on the cover of the first eleven issues (out of 29 total issues) read "Based on gripping CBS radio - television series".
Critical response A review in The New York Times of the program's premiere episode, "Revenge", commended the "great technical skill" of mixing filmed segments with live studio shots, a technique that the review labeled a "novel aspect". Beyond that, however, reviewer Jay Gould found little to like about the episode, which he wrote was "a badly contrived piece of trivia", described elsewhere in the review as having "a drab story and an inexcusably poor supporting cast". Even so, he wrote that with improvements "the mystery show should be a serviceable staple on video."
The trade publication Variety commented in a review of the same episode that "Suspense made an inauspicious debut" on television, comparing the episode to a B film. The reviewer blamed a "weakly motivated" adaptation for causing the direction and acting to suffer. Robert Stevens, who produced and directed, was cited for failing to add excitement to an already weak script.
Episodes
Season 1 (1948–1949)
No. inseriesNo. in season TitleWriter Guest Stars Original air dateNotes11 "Goodbye New York"Cornell Woolrich Meg Mundy January 6, 1949Departing New York by train, Mary Gardner (Meg Mundy), worries that a mysterious man (Gage Clarke) is following her while she waits for her husband, Ray. In a flashback, Mary returns to her apartment, and runs into the superintendent (Philip Coolidge), who demands the back rent. She manages to stall for time, but smells gas as she enters the apartment. Mary discovers Ray collapsed on the floor, but revives him. Ray cannot find work and has been blacklisted by his former employer. Wondering where Mary has gotten money for groceries, she reveals that she has pawned her wedding ring. Ashamed, Ray hurriedly leaves the apartment. Mary follows him but stops when she sees a suspicious-looking man eyeing her. Ray returns later that evening with $500. The next morning, the couple read about the murder of Ray's boss in the newspaper, and Mary, realizing what has happened, decides that they must leave the city. At Grand Central Station they board the train separately to avoid suspicion. Flashing forward to the present, Ray catches up with Mary on the train. The mysterious man is then revealed to be sitting in front of them, and as the tickets are being collected, he flashes a badge to the conductor.22 "Revenge"Cornell Woolrich Eddie Albert Margo March 1, 1949based on the 1943 novel The Black Path of Fear33 "Suspicion"Sylvia Berger & Dorothy L. Sayers Ernest Truex Sylvia Field Ruth McDevitt March 15, 1949previously adapted for Suspense radio show on 12 August 1942, 10 February 1944, & 3 April 1948. A couple has separate health issues. One of them is arsenic.44 "Cabin B-13"John Dickson Carr Charles Korvin Eleanor Lynn March 29, 1949previously adapted for Suspense radio on 13 March 1943 & 9 November 1943. In 1948 it inspired its own short-lived radio program. 55 "The Man Upstairs"Cornell Woolrich Mildred Natwick Anthony Ross April 5, 194966 "After Dinner Story"Cornell Woolrich Otto Kruger April 12, 1949previously adapted for Suspense radio on 26 October 1943. 77 "The Creeper"Frank Gabrielson & Joseph Ruscoll Nina Foch Anthony Ross April 19, 194988 "A Night at an Inn"Lord Dunsany & Halsted Welles Boris Karloff Anthony Ross Jack Manning Barry Macollum Joan Stanley April 26, 1949A pilot flies unknown shipments to a mystery spot in the Arctic.99 "Dead Ernest"Reginald Denham, Seeleg Lester, & Mary Orr Margaret Phillips Tod Andrews Will Hare Patricia Jenkins May 3, 1949previously performed on Suspense radio on 8 August 1946, 8 May 1947, & 24 March 1949. Ernest Bowers suffers an attack of catalepsy while crossing the street, lapsing into a coma that resembles death. Believing he was killed by a passing car, his body is sent to the city morgue. His coat, with a note in the pocket describing his medical condition, is taken by the owner of a secondhand clothing store and quickly sold. The couple who purchase the jacket finds the note and begins a race to save Ernest from a premature embalming.1010 "Post Mortem"Cornell Woolrich & Frank Gabrielson Sidney Blackmer Peggy Conklin Richard Coogan Julian Noa May 10, 1949previously performed on Suspense radio program on 4 April 1946. Following the sudden death of her husband, Josie marries Doc Archer, the man named beneficiary of her husband's life insurance policy. Investigator Westcott is suspicious after learning the doctor has a history of collecting such payouts. Westcott informs Josie that she is in danger of becoming her husband's next heavily insured "accident." She doesn't believe him—until she's almost killed when Doc "accidentally" knocks a sunlamp into the tub while she's bathing.1111 "The Monkey's Paw"Frank Gabrielson & W.W. Jacobs Boris Karloff Mildred Natwick May 17, 1949 1212 "Murder Through the Looking Glass"Reginald Denham, Mary Orr, & Craig Rice William Prince Peter von Zerneck May 24, 1949performed for Suspense radio program 17 March 1949. 1313 "The Doors on the Thirteenth Floor"Edward Mabley & Marie Rodell Louisa Horton Hill Anthony Ross Russell Collins Nell Harrison Douglass Watson May 31, 1949Elderly Agatha Leighton returns from a trip to find her apartment on the thirteenth floor has been robbed. As she attempts to call the police, someone grabs her. Sally, who lives down the hall, attempts to visit the old lady as she'd promised, but finds she's been locked in her apartment and the phone is dead. Through the door's peephole, she sees the building's desk clerk leaving Agatha's apartment. Sally realizes something bad has happened to the old lady.1414 "The Yellow Scarf"Thomas Burke & Halsted Welles Boris Karloff Felicia Montealegre Russell Collins Douglass Watson June 7, 19491515 "Help Wanted"Reginald Denham, Stanley Ellin, & Mary Orr Otto Kruger D.A. Clarke-Smith Peggy French George Mathews Ruth McDevitt June 14, 1949later adapted as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents on 1 April 1956. 1616 "Stolen Empire" James Sheehan & Halsted Welles Audrey Christie Ken Lynch June 21, 19491717 "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole"Thomas Burke & Frank Gabrielson Ralph Bell June 28, 1949
Season 2 (1949–1950) 6 Sep. 1949 - "Lunch Box" 13 Sep. 1949 - "Collector's Item" 20 Sep. 1949 - "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" 27 Sep. 1949 - "The Comic Strip Murder" 4 Oct. 1949 - "Dr. Violet" 11 Oct. 1949 - "A Cask of Amontillado" starring Bela Lugosi 18 Oct. 1949 - "The Serpent Ring" 25 Oct. 1949 - "The Murderer" 1 Nov. 1949 - "Black Passage" based on the story "Olalla" by Robert Louis Stevenson 8 Nov. 1949 - "Suspicion" 15 Nov. 1949 - "The Thin Edge of Violence" starring George Reeves 22 Nov. 1949 - "The Third One" 29 Nov. 1949 - "Man in the House" 6 Dec. 1949 - "The Scar" 13 Dec. 1949 - "The Gray Helmet" 20 Dec. 1949 - "The Seeker and the Sought" 27 Dec. 1949 - "The Case of Lady Sannox" 3 Jan. 1950 - "Morning Boat to Africa" 10 Jan. 1950 - "The Bomber Command" starring George Reeves 17 Jan. 1950 - "Summer Storm" 24 Jan. 1950 - "The Horizontal Man" 31 Jan. 1950 - "The Distant Island" 7 Feb. 1950 - "Escape This Night" 14 Feb. 1950 - "The Suicide Club" based on the stories by Robert Louis Stevenson 21 Feb. 1950 - "Roman Holiday" 28 Feb. 1950 - "The Man Who Talked in His Sleep" 7 Mar. 1950 - "The Ledge" 14 Mar. 1950 - "The Parcel" 21 Mar. 1950 - "My Old Man's Badge" 28 Mar. 1950 - "The Second Class Passenger" 4 Apr. 1950 - "1000 To One" 11 Apr. 1950 - "Steely, Steely Eyes" 18 Apr. 1950 - "Murder at the Mardi Gras" starring George Reeves 25 Apr. 1950 - "The Gentleman from America" 2 May 1950 - "Death of a Dummy" 9 May 1950 - "Red Wine" 16 May 1950 - "One and One's a Lonesome" 23 May 1950 - "Photo Finish" 30 May 1950 - "Listen, Listen" Mildred Natwick 6 Jun. 1950 - "Black Bronze" Franchot Tone 13 Jun. 1950 - "I'm No Hero" 27 Jun. 1950 - "Wisteria Cottage" Conrad Janis, Marjorie Gateson
Season 3 (1950–1951) 29 August 1950 - "Poison" 5 September 1950 - "A Pocketful of Murder" 12 September 1950 - "Edge of Panic" 19 September 1950 - "Dark Shadows" 26 September 1950 - "Six to One" 3 October 1950 - "The Monkey's Paw" 10 October 1950 - "Criminals Mark" Catherine McLeod 17 October 1950 - "The Man Who Would Be King" Francis L. Sullivan 24 October 1950 - "Breakdown" 31 October 1950 - "Halloween Hold-Up" 7 November 1950 - "Nightmare" 14 November 1950 - "The Brush Off" George Reeves, Leslie Nielsen, Mary Sinclair 21 November 1950 - "The Death Cards" 28 November 1950 - "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole" 5 December 1950 - "The Guy from Nowhere" 12 December 1950 - "The Mallet" 19 December 1950 - "Dancing Dan's Christmas" 26 December 1950 - "The Tip" 2 January 1951 - "Death in a River" 9 January 1951 - "Tough Cop" 16 January 1951 - "The Fool's Heart" starring George Reeves 23 January 1951 - "Dead Fall" 30 January 1951 - "The Rose Garden" 6 February 1951 - "Night Break" 13 February 1951 - "Double Entry" 20 February 1951 - "The Victims" 27 February 1951 - "Margin for Safety" 6 March 1951 - "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" 13 March 1951 - "On a Country Road" 20 March 1951 - "Telephone Call" 27 March 1951 - "The Three of Silence" 3 April 1951 - "Go Home Dead Man" 10 April 1951 - "The Foggy Night Visitor" 17 April 1951 - "The Juiceman" - Cloris Leachman, Robert Webber, Robert Emhardt 24 April 1951 - "Murderers' Meeting" 1 May 1951 - "No Friend Like an Old Friend" 8 May 1951 - "Murder in the Ring" 15 May 1951 - "Too Hot to Live" 22 May 1951 - "Escape This Night" 29 May 1951 - "Vamp Till Dead" 5 June 1951 - "The Call" 12 June 1951 - "De Mortuis" 19 June 1951 - "A Killing in Abilene" 26 June 1951 - "The Greatest Crime" 3 July 1951 - "Blood on the Trumpet" 10 July 1951 - "Tent on the Beach" 17 July 1951 - "Wisteria Cottage" 24 July 1951 - "The Incident at Story Point" 31 July 1951 - "A Vision of Death" 7 August 1951 - "Killers of the City" 14 August 1951 - "Death Sabre" 21 August 1951 - "This Is Your Confession: Part 1" 28 August 1951 - "This Is Your Confession: Part 2" 4 September 1951 - "This Way Out" 11 September 1951 - "Strange for a Killer"
Season 4 (1951–1952) 18 Sep. 1951 - "Merryman's Murder" 25 Sep. 1951 - "Doctor Anonymous" 2 Oct. 1951 - "Santa Fe Flight" 9 Oct. 1951 - "High Street" 16 Oct. 1951 - "The Fifth Dummy" 23 Oct. 1951 - "The Train from Czechoslovakia" 30 Oct. 1951 - "Court Day" 6 Nov. 1951 - "Moonfleet: Part 1" 13 Nov. 1951 - "Moonfleet: Part 2" 20 Nov. 1951 - "Frisco Payoff" 27 Nov. 1951 - "Mikki" 4 Dec. 1951 - "The Far-Off House"