Keep Us in “Suspense”

I was born too late to have really grown up with radio mystery dramas. But I did enjoy the old CBS Radio Mystery Theater as a teenager, whenever I didn’t fall asleep listening to it late at night. And I even tried my hand at writing radio dramas when I was in college. So I can appreciate a well-executed tale of homicide and horror for the air. Which is why I was so intrigued--and that’s certainly the right word--to discover Escape and Suspense!, a Web site managed by San Francisco writer-historian Christine A. Miller that offers installments of two old-time CBS radio anthology series, Suspense (1946-1962) and Escape (1947-1954). Updated a few times each week, Escape and Suspense! synopsizes each episode, and then lets you listen to the original broadcasts.

Miller notes that “There are some drawbacks to Old Time Radio. Some episodes have become so dated over time that they don’t bring much enjoyment to the modern listener. Aside from that, they are not racially balanced, feminist or gay friendly by modern standards. These shows are indicative of their own time.” However, she hastens to add at her site, “Writers, screenwriters and actors would do well to study these broadcasts for what worked and what didn’t work. Anyone interested in the power of storytelling and how to keep the attention of an audience should pay attention to how these shows were set up and paced.”

Don’t be surprised to hear famous old Hollywood stars such as Vincent Price, Ronald Coleman, and Jim “Thurston Howell III” Backus contributing their voices to these melodramas, and a few noteworthy authors, among them Cornell Woolrich, had their writing adapted for Escape and/or Suspense. Listening in is a great way to pass a rainy weekend day or an otherwise quiet night. Escape and Suspense! can be found here. I’ve also added a link to the site in the right-hand column of this page.